BRUGELETTE, Belgium (Reuters) — It took 22 months of gestation and 10 hours of labor, but Belgian zoo resident Khaing Hnin Hnin, a 35-year old female Asian elephant, finally gave birth on Tuesday (September 19) to her sixth calf.
The young elephant, the first male calf born to his mother, was seen standing up and toddling on CCTV video just minutes after being born in the early hours of Tuesday, at 02h26, the zoo said.
The birth, the third of its type in this zoo, was cautiously monitored by a team of veterinarians, especially as a young calf born last summer in the same zoo had died soon after from respiratory failure.
But this time, the zoo said the young elephant was in very good health, as well as his mother.
The new-born has not been named yet and the zoo will submit to the public’s vote a list of suggested names on social media.
He will be presented to the public on Tuesday when all the family will be sent back to their outdoor enclosure of about seven hectares.
With a total group of 18 individuals, 15 Asian and 3 African, the Pairi Daiza zoo hosts the biggest group of elephants in Europe.