Baby elephant born in Copenhagen

23.2.2024 – Source: Copenhagen Zoo

At 2.39 am on Tuesday night a baby elephant was born at the Copenhagen Zoo. The mother is 16-year-old Kumari. The zoo keepers, veterinarians – and many other employees at the zoo have been waiting for months for this birth.

The baby was born in the elephant enclosure. The birth of the little baby went smoothly and naturally, with the whole herd involved as helpers.Within minutes, the baby was on its feet and walking around with the rest of the herd. (See the video at the end of this article)

The first lactation is one of the most important milestones that the zookeepers are keeping a close eye on.

-“In addition, we want to make sure that it gets up and pees quickly,” says the zoological director.

Managing Director Pernille Mehl also welcomes the new baby that is a girl.

– Personally, I have been waiting with great anticipation for the baby to arrive in recent weeks. I am very much looking forward to our guests meeting our little new member of the zoo family.

There are now two baby elephants living in ZOO Copenhagen. In addition to the new arrival, we have Mun, who was born in 2020.

FACTS:

Mother: Maha Kumari, born in 2007 in Cologne ZOO. She came to Copenhagen Zoo in September 2019. The newborn calf is her second cub. The first calf is stationed in a Hungarian z00, where he is part of an elephant bachelor herd.

Father: Fahim. Born in 2005 in Zürich Zoo. Fahim came to Copenhagen Zoo in December 2021 as a new breeding male on the recommendation of the European Asian Elephant Breeding Programme. The newborn calf is his second calf. Fahim’s firstborn lives in Rotterdam Zoo.

– A birth is a very social event in an elephant herd, and you can see from the video that the whole herd is involved. The adult females support and assist the labouring mother and play an important role in keeping any larger calves at a distance. After the birth, the ‘aunties’ also help the calf get back on its feet quickly, and during the first 24 hours, it is very important that they guide the calf to the teats to suckle, explains Mads Bertelsen, Director of Zoology.