Taronga Zoo's two male elephant calves have a new sister to play with.The 120-kilogram female calf was born at 1.12am today, four years to the day after a herd of Asians elephants arrived from Thailand.
Her birth was in stark contrast to that of "miracle" calf Pathi Harn, also known as Mr Shuffles, who made a surprise appearance in March, two days after it was thought he had died in the womb.
The female newborn had a "record breaking" arrival, and was nursing within 90 minutes of birth and standing unassisted within three hours, her keepers said.
The new calf's mother is Pak Boon and her father is the zoo's bull, Gung, which makes her a half sister to the zoo's first calf, Luk Chai, born on July 4 last year.
After a 22-month long pregnancy, Pak Boon delivered her calf outside the elephant barn, in the lower paddock of the complex.
Zoo director Cameron Kerr said the keepers used a sling to help the infant into the barn.
The team included Thomas Hildebrandt from the Berlin Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Taronga vet Larry Vogelnest, and the head elephant keeper, Gary Miller.
The other elephants also supported her.
"The Taronga herd is now quite experienced and managed the process very successfully," Mr Kerr said.
The calf is the fifth born under the Australian Conservation Management Plan for these endangered elephants, with female Mali and male Ongard, also arriving in Melbourne this year.
"This is another outstanding milestone in an exceptional conservation breeding program for Asian elephants," Mr Kerr said.
"In just four years since the self-sustaining regional breeding group was established at Taronga and Melbourne Zoos, the herd has increased in size by 50 per cent."
Pak Boon's name means morning glory flower in Thai. Born in 1992, she originally came from an elephant camp on the outskirts of Bangkok in Thailand.
She is second in the herd hierarchy and is said to have a very dominant and independent personality, although she is also eager to please and seeks attention from keepers and can sometimes be a "drama queen".
A Thai name for the female calf will be chosen in coming weeks to reflect the herd's cultural origin.
Pathi Harn's extraordinary birth made news worldwide.
He had been in an upside down position in his mother's womb, with his head hanging down trapped against her pelvis.
Unable to detect any signs of life after a difficult nine-day labour, Dr Vogelnest and Dr Hildebrandt assumed the calf had died.
But, two days later, his mother, Porntip, gave birth alone in the early hours of the morning and the calf is now doing well.
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