It's a girl! Here's what life has been like for Reid Park Zoo's week-old baby elephant
Reid Park Zoo's baby elephant is now one week old and has hit all her milestones so far. Reid Park Zoo's week-old female calf, Semba, has been performing well at Reid Park Zoo. The 266-pound female calf has already reached milestones such as learning to stand and move by Day 3. Staff members provided extra hydration for Semba during her pregnancy and antibiotics for any changes in bloodwork. They also provided fluffy sand pillows for her and provided hot spots in the barn during cold nights. Dodds credits Semba with becoming more confident in raising her daughter, having previously had little boys. The elephant community has a species survival plan in place to identify which animals should be reproducing at the time.
प्रकाशित : दो महीने पहले द्वारा gloria knott, Gloria Knott में Science
The 266-pound female calf has hit all her milestones so far — it took her about 20 minutes to stand up and only a couple hours until she was successfully nursing. In the first few hours, calves tend to stumble a lot and don't really know how to move backwards. By Day 3, they start to learn how to spin and pivot their bodies.
"The elephant community has a species survival plan in place," Dodds says. "They look at the genetics of all the elephants — elephants are on a decline in their numbers in zoos and in the wild. They put together numbers of which animals should be reproducing and when."
Staff members provided extra hydration for Semba during the pregnancy and in the event of any changes in bloodwork, they were able to provide her with probiotics or antibiotics. They made fluffy sand pillows for her so she'd have comfy spots to lay down, and she'd get the hot spots in the barn during our cold nights.
From a family of four to a family of five
"It's amazing. She's such a great mom," Dodds says. "I have really seen her become more confident with each daughter she's had. Her earlier pregnancies, she had little boys, so now having daughters has given her a lot more support because they're really involved in raising the calf. Nandi is taking a front-and-center role and helping her mom."
"This time, Nandi has learned the ropes with Penzi. She's taken on more of a nurturing role," Dodds says. "She'll take her trunk and bring the calf to her, she'll take the calf between all four legs, she warns her sister away from the baby if she feels her sister is too close."
विषय: Wildlife, Elephants