SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Sydney’s Taronga Zoo welcomed the arrival of an Asian elephant calf on Friday (May 26), the first to be born there in nearly seven years, according to a statement.
The unnamed male calf weighed in at 130 kilograms and was standing within five minutes of the birth, zoo staff confirmed.
The zoo said that the latest arrival will be a second for mother Pak Boon, who delivered a female calf named Tukta in 2010.
Asian elephant numbers continue to decline globally due to habitat loss and poaching, with around 30,000 to 50,000 estimated to remain globally, according to the zoo.