A second elephant calf in 2 weeks is born at a California zoo

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The second elephant calf in two weeks has been born at a California zoo.

African elephant Amahle gave start early Monday morning, based on the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The occasion got here 10 days after Amahle’s mom, Nolwazi, gave start to a different male calf.

The brand new additions are the primary elephants born on the zoo, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco, which has launched into a program to breed elephants within the hope that they are often seen by zoogoers in years to return.

“To have two wholesome calves is a historic milestone,” Jon Forrest Dohlin, the zoo’s chief govt, stated in a press release Tuesday. “We can’t await the general public to see the brand new additions to our herd and share in our pleasure.”

The elephants and their calves will proceed to be monitored behind the scenes for now, Dohlin stated. Whereas the zoo expanded its exhibit in anticipation of rising its herd, some animal activists have opposed the breeding program, saying elephants shouldn’t be in zoos due to their complicated wants.

In 2022, the zoo introduced in male elephant Mabu hoping he’d breed with the 2 females. The way forward for elephants — which have comparatively few offspring and a 22-month gestation interval — in zoos hinges largely on breeding.