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The - yet - unnamed elephant calf at Melbourne Zoo
Photo: Victoria Zoo / dpa
Melbourne Zoo has had offspring: On Wednesday night (local time), the elephant cow Dokkoon gave birth to a healthy calf after a 22-month pregnancy.
The special thing about it: It is the first small pachyderm that was conceived naturally within the herd of Asian elephants.
This is how the Australian newspaper The Age reports, citing the zoo.
The calf's sire, Luk Chai, is actually from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in the city of Dubbo and was brought to Melbourne in 2020.
The zoo now presented the result with a video of the birth on its Instagram channel.
"It is with great pleasure to welcome this beautiful elephant calf to our herd and witness his first interactions with his mother and other members of the herd," said a zoo spokeswoman.
"We give mother and calf the time and space they need to develop their relationship with each other and with the herd."
The little elephant should get a name in the coming weeks.
However, he should only be presented to the public "when the mom and the baby are ready for it".
"We know some of you are bursting with excitement and are dying to see the calf," the zoo wrote on Instagram.
"But we ask you to be patient."
The animal experts in Melbourne are expecting more offspring: the elephant cows Num Oi and Mali are also pregnant.
In 2024, the whole herd will be relocated to the Werribee Open Range Zoo, south-west of Melbourne, where a 21-hectare site awaits them.
ala/dpa