Newly Born Elephant Calf Learns to Stand With A Just a Bit of Coaxing from Her Mom

The cameras of CBS News caught a newly born female elephant calf‘s very first shaky attempts to stand, accomplished with a bit of coaxing from her mom Semba, a 24-year old African elephant at the Reid Park Zoo in Tuscon, Arizona.

Elephant calves are up and walking around within an hour of birth, but it takes a little while for them to gain confidence.

According to the zoo, the baby is now out and about, walking around with her mom.

This morning Zoo Keepers decided that all the conditions were right to allow Semba and baby access to the far side of the exhibit for some sun and exercise…Keepers will continue letting the baby out into the far yard whenever they feel the time is right–mom needs to be relaxed, the rest of the herd needs to be calm, and the baby needs to be alert. She usually won’t stay out more than a couple of hours at most–remember that one lap around the far yard is a HUGE distance for a baby elephant. After some time in the yard she’s usually ready for a nap!

via Nothing To Do With Arbroath

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.