Taronga hails 'miracle' baby elephant

10 Mar 2010, 7:22 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Zoo staff previously believed the calf had died in the womb on Sunday night, but now admit they were mistaken.(AAP)

Zoo staff previously believed the calf had died in the womb on Sunday night, but now admit they were mistaken.(AAP)

An elephant calf born three days after it was believed to have died in its mother's womb is receiving round-the-clock intensive care.

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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."

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