Excellent news today; the elephant calf everyone has been waiting for was born at approximately 11pm last night. Mother Thi, and the as yet unnamed and un-sexed calf are both doing well, and the birth went without a hitch. I managed to get a glimpse of the calf shortly after midday and the herd are being incredibly protective, but the calf was suckling (mother nudging Nayan out of the way) and quite active. It has long, dark hair on its head, which looks like a poorly-fitting wig. The house is only going to be open for limited hours during the next few days, and numbers entering will also be limited. The youngster will only go out on the paddock - weather permitting - later in the week. I did ask if it was OK to post this news and got approval to do so, but there'll be something more official tomorrow.
Excellent news as this will now stop all the guessing for when Thi will give birth,lets just hope its a cow and not another bull calf.
Great news and good timing with half term coming up in a few weeks to get more traffic through the gates
Brillant news, for the beginning of 2011. Hope it will be a female calf, giving holy water! Will deffo visit next week.
Brilliant news. Top marks to all staff concerned. An unassisted birth inside the full group. Another learning curve for the herd. And of course every new calf in the Asian elephant EEP brings us closer to a sustainable breeding programme.
Amazing news!! Congrats to Upali and Thi on the new addition!! Will try and sneak in a previously unplanned visit tomorrow
Excellent news that the calf is a girl, everyone thought so yesterday but couldn't be absolutely certain. Nayan is being a little terror by all accounts. Photo from yesterday attached.
