Taronga hails 'miracle' baby elephant

A walking miracle weighing 100 kilograms.
That's how Sydney's Taronga Zoo has described a newborn Asian elephant originally
thought to have died inside its mother during a difficult labour.

The male calf was born early on Wednesday, much to the astonishment of zoo staff who
mistakenly believed their newest resident was stillborn.
Days after breeding experts said its heart had stopped beating while inside
Taronga's elephant herd matriarch Porntip, she delivered the 100kg calf.
However, there's no guarantee of its long-term survival.
The calf is believed to have lapsed into a coma at one stage during the long labour
- which the zoo says may explain why there were no signs of life.
The zoo's elephant birthing team of about a dozen keepers and veterinarians is now
working around the clock to support the calf through the critical first hours and
days of life.
But while there is life, there is hope, they say.
The calf was described as "very weak" soon after he was born but had managed to take
his first steps in between sleeps by lunchtime on Wednesday.
He also consumed several litres of colostrum, a protein and antibody-rich milk
secreted by mammals for a short period after giving birth to protect babies against
disease.
His mother, who was artificially inseminated 22 months ago, was said to be doing well.
"Porntip is already showing signs of being an excellent mother, trying to help him
suckle, although he hasn't quite managed to suckle yet," Taronga's senior
veterinarian Dr Larry Vogelnest said.
"She's in good health and has been getting to know her calf, gently touching the
young animal with her trunk."
The calf will remain in the zoo's heated elephant barn while he is given intensive
care by the elephant birth team, and will not be visible to zoo visitors.
He was mistakenly declared to have died in his mother's uterus after a series of
ultrasound scans and medical examinations by elephant reproductive expert Dr Thomas
Hildebrandt failed to detect any signs of life.
During the complicated labour process he had turned upside down, which would have
made birth impossible, Taronga staff said.
Dr Hildebrandt, a renowned authority on elephant births from the Berlin Institute of
Zoo and Wildlife Health, had said if the calf were born alive, it would be a
miracle.
"We believe now that the traumatic labour may have induced a state of coma in the
calf," zoo director Cameron Kerr said.
Dr Vogelnest said the elephant's unconscious state "would explain the complete
absence of any vital signs during all the checks and examinations we conducted
during the labour (that) led us to believe the calf had not survived."
Porntip, along with the zoo's other Asian elephants, Pak Boon, Tang Mo, Thong Dee
and eight-month-old Luk Chai, were gently caressing the newborn with their trunks,
and were in a calm state, the zoo's spokesman Mark Williams said.
The calf appeared to be stockier than Luk Chai, but was not as tall, Dr Vogelnest said.
While staff hold their breath, praying their newest arrival survives, Mr Kerr
concedes the animal kingdom is baffling.
"The events of (Wednesday) morning have highlighted to me just how complex the
challenges are in breeding and helping to preserve this magnificent species," he
said.
"Nature still has the ability to amaze and surprise us all."