Baby elephant boom as Belgian zoo welcomes third calf

Mechelen : A Belgian zoo on Wednesday welcomed its third baby elephant of the past six months, delighting visitors and zookeepers alike.

The new arrival, an Asian elephant still without a name, was the first male born at Planckendael zoo this year.

“We got our third baby, three in a row, three healthy babies. You can’t make an elephant zookeeper happier,” said Ben Van Dyck who looks after the animals.

On his feet within fifteen minutes of his birth and now walking well, the newborn is perfectly healthy, the zoo said.

He became the tenth member of the elephant family at a zoo whose breeding programme aims to help repopulate the endangered species.