Adorable baby elephant’s birth causes huge celebration from herd in Kenya, video shows
Keepers at a nature preserve in Kenya filmed an elephant herd’s reaction to their newest and youngest member.
The elephant herd in southeastern Kenya is primarily composed of rescued and formerly-orphaned elephants, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said in a news release. One of these female elephants, Melia, gave birth to her first calf on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Melia and the rest of her herd had gathered near the main gate of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Ithumba preserve, wildlife officials said. Just after sunrise, a park keeper heard a huge commotion and rushed to see what was happening.
The keeper discovered that Melia had just given birth, surprising herself and the rest of the herd, the Oct. 30 release said. The herd initially backed away from the newborn elephant before gathering back around him.
After the shock wore off, the elephant herd began to celebrate, keepers said and video shows. The adult elephants waved their trunks, trumpeted, and flapped their ears. Many came to look at the newborn, caressing him with their trunks.
The baby — given the name Milo, which means “beloved” — was helped to his feet by his mother and other motherly female elephants, the release said. Keepers quickly realized that Milo was an “unusually large baby” and had been born “a very sturdy chap,” they said in the release.
At one day old, Milo was already comparable to the size of the herd’s three-week-old calf and seven-month-old calf, keepers said.
Milo is the 53rd known calf born to a formerly-orphaned elephant rescued by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Rescued elephants are proud of and excited for their calves, often bringing them back to show the keepers, the release said. Milo’s birth is the first time an elephant has given birth so close to the main buildings of the Ithumba preserve.
The Ithumba Reintegration Unit of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is located around Tsavo East National Park, about 100 miles northwest of Mombasa on the Kenyan coast.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Adorable baby elephant’s birth causes huge celebration from herd in Kenya, video shows."
