Heart-warming moment baby elephant is nudged awake by her proud mother then takes her first few steps after her incredible Christmas Day birth at a Belgian zoo
A whole family of elephants at the Planckendael Zoo in Belgium helped an expectant mother give birth to a calf that weighed around 200 to 320 pounds.
The expectant mother, May Tagu, was filmed lightly kicking the amniotic sac hanging out of her birth canal.
After a day in labour, or two in some cases, the sac drops out, breaking and releasing the calf and a lot of fluid.
A family of elephants rejoiced after a calf was born on Christmas day, at Planckendael Zoo in Belgium
The Christmas calf was cared for by members of the May’s family who rushed to protect the mother and her newborn.
The birth was filmed by the zoo which showed the elephants surrounding the mother and calf in the stall.
As soon as the baby was born, the mother, and those assisting her, scraped dirt and grass over damp spots so the smell won’t attract predators.
The baby elephant clings to its mother May Tagu who may have carried the calf for up to 660 days, which is the average gestation period of an elephant
When the baby elephant is finally born, it can weigh around 200 lbs (91 kg) and stand about 3 feet (1 m) tall
Caretaker Ben Van Dyck said: ‘During the day, we understood that it was not going to take much time. We noticed it from the quality of (May’s) stools. (So) they decided to put a team on the night watch’.
‘After 20-25 minutes (after the birth), we noticed that the baby could already stand up and was making its first steps – always with two (elephants) bodyguards next to it.
‘It was fantastic. This is fantastic news for the team in charge of taking care of the elephant, certainly the best Christmas present for Planckendael (Zoo).’
After the family rub dirt all over the newborn, to warn predators off the smell, the calf will try to stand on its four legs
Covered in dirt: adult elephants smother the newborn in dirt to ward off predators who, if in the wild, may smell it
Adult elephants welcome the baby by tapping the baby’s trunk with their own trunk.
Unlike other newborns, the baby elephant wakes up, savvy enough to try and stand up by itself, and take shelter under an adult elephant.
Elephant pregnancies last the longest, totaling up to 23 months, which is roughly around 95 weeks.
Adult elephants welcome the baby by tapping the baby’s trunk with their own trunk