Night Safari’s 30-year-old female Asian elephant Sri Nandong surprised her carers when she gave birth to a bouncy calf earlier than expected.
Weighing 149kg, the female baby elephant was delivered on May 12, two weeks before the park turned 22 on May 26, said the popular tourist attraction in a media statement today.
Welcoming its new member like a birthday gift, the Night Safari said it was the park’s first elephant birth in six years.
The calf has gained 43kg since its birth, and now weighs 192kg. It added that the “gentle yet inquisitive” calf was sired by 39-year-old Chawang, the famous Asian bull elephant at the park.
Night Safari is now home to three female and two male elephants.
Visitors can witness the close bond between mother and baby at the Asian elephant exhibit from late June. For now, the yet-to-be-named calf enjoys getting acquainted with her elephant ‘aunties’, said the park.
chenj@sph.com.sg
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