San Diego Zoo gets big Valentine’s Day gift _ a baby African elephant
By APTuesday, February 16, 2010
SD zoo gets big Valentine’s gift _ a baby elephant
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Zoo got a big gift for Valentine’s Day — a baby elephant.
The zoo’s Wild Animal Park says the male African elephant was born around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Park spokeswoman Yadira (Yah-DEER’-uh) Galindo says visitors camping at the zoo were awakened by elephants trumpeting — a common behavior when a calf is born. The females of the herd circled the 224-pound calf to protect it.
Galindo says the calf is able to stand and nurse and is doing well Tuesday.
The calf hasn’t been named yet. His mother is a 20-year-old called Ndlulamitsi (Eh-DOO’-luh-MIHT’-see), which means “taller than trees.” His father is Mabhulane (Mah-boo-LAH’-nee).
The calf is the sixth born into a herd that was imported from Swaziland in 2003. The herd has now grown to 13.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Zoo got a big gift for Valentine’s Day — a baby elephant.
The zoo’s Wild Animal Park says the African elephant calf was born around 2 a.m. Sunday. Officials say visitors camping at the zoo were awakened by elephants trumpeting — a common behavior when a calf is born.
The calf hasn’t been named and details about it weren’t immediately released. Newborns typically stand about 3 feet tall and weight 250 to 300 pounds.
It’s the park’s sixth calf born into a herd that was imported from Swaziland in 2003. The herd has now grown to more than a dozen.
