(MY) birth of elephant in zoo

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Zoo Negara's Sibol gives birth to country's first - New Straits Times

captive-born elephant

By Theresa Manavalan (theresam)

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Wed. - Zoo Negara elephant Sibol gave birth to a

female calf early this morning but lost her composure, knocked down

a concrete wall and hurt her baby in the commotion.

 

But the newborn - the first captive-born elephant in Malaysia - is

already showing that she's made of tough stuff. The proud father is

Triang, the 23-year-old male at Zoo Negara.

 

The calf, born at 1.15am and weighing 106kg - has been removed

from the mother and is undergoing intensive nursing.

 

" Her prospects are very good, but we're watching for signs of internal

injury, " said Dr S. Vellayan, Zoo Negara's veterinarian.

 

Dr Vellayan, assisted by zoo vets Dr Vijay Jayam, Dr Reza Singham

and Dr Abraham Mathew, are monitoring mother and calf

roundthe-clock.

 

The calf will be presented to the public when it is fully recovered.

 

The zoo's veterinary team suspects the baby has a fractured hind

leg, and possibly a dislocated foreleg in addition to skin abrasions

but by evening, she was trying to stand up on her own.

 

The unnamed calf is on a sugar and saline intravenous drip and has

been given a shot of serum formulated from Sibol's blood to develop

immunity. She was also being fed colostrum, extracted from Sibol's

milk.

 

Her heartbeat, respiration, reflexes and suckling tendencies have

been reported as good.

 

Dr Vellayan said the calf would be placed in a belly sling (suspended

from the ceiling) so pressure is taken off her legs and added that the

instinct to walk comes almost immediately after birth.

 

Going berserk at the birth process is expected of large mammals in

captivity and aggressive behaviour towards their young is more the

rule than the exception.

 

Dr Vellayan said Sibol began giving " CPR " to her baby (blowing air

into baby's trunk) immediately after birth. But shortly after, she began

to kick the baby and show affection alternately.

 

" Suddenly she charged at a wall of the enclosure and a portion of it

fell to the ground where the baby was resting, " said Dr Vellayan.

 

As keepers coaxed Sibol away from the area, veterinarians removed

the baby.

 

Sibol, the 23-year-old Malayan elephant, surprised most people when

she became pregnant as healthy pregnancies are rare in captivity.

 

Today's birth came sooner than expected as the veterinary team had

estimated the due date to be towards the end of the year. The

gestation period for elephants is 21 months.

 

Dr Vellayan said indications of birth became apparent on Friday, after

which veterinarians began video-taping Sibol.

 

 

Sibol and calf doing fine

By Sharmila Vella sharmila

 

KUALA LUMPUR, June 5. - Zoo Negara's first captive-born

elephant and mother, Sibol, are doing fine despite a difficult birth

yesterday when part of a wall fell on the calf.

 

The unnamed newborn was in a generally cheery mood today,

playing with zoo staff and trying to stand despite her weak legs.

 

According to an X-ray report, there was no fracture but zoo

veterinarian Dr S. Vellayan was closely monitoring the calf's

respiration. He was also in contact with Singapore Zoo on the matter.

 

The calf was being placed in a belly sling for an hour a day for better

blood circulation. This was to help strengthen her legs.

 

Sibol was also doing well and under 24-hour vigilance. She seemed

restless without her baby and was already showing a strong maternal

instinct for the calf.

 

Zoo staff said the calf would slowly be introduced to Sibol when she

was strong and walking on her own.

 

Zoo Negara director Datuk Jimin Idris said: " A month from now, we

will be organising a function to name the calf. We want the children of

Malaysia to name the baby. " There would be forms to fill out for the

choice of names, he added.

 

" The calf will only be presented to the public after she has fully

recovered, " Jimin said.

 

 

New Straits Times

Editorial

Big birth

news

 

 

June 7: BORN: To Sibol and Traing, a girl, 106kg. It may have been a

rollicking birth, with the over-excited mother kicking over a concrete

wall and injuring her baby, but the big bundle seems to have survived the

experience, bringing abundant joy to the staff of (and soon, hopefully,

the visitors to) Zoo Negara.

 

The arrival of this baby elephant is a credit to the zoo, its keepers and

veterinary staff. It's also a heart-warming tale to add to the recent

roster of animal stories with happy endings, from the recapture of Terapai

Putih, the panther that escaped from Johor Zoo, alive on instructions from

the Sultan of Johor himself, to the news that Malacca Zoo's

captured-troublemaker tigers have proven themselves breeders

extraordinaire, with some 50 cubs born since the zoo's establishment in

1987, many of them sent to enthral visitors to zoos elsewhere in the

world.

 

The downside of zoos is in being regarded as " animal prisons " . At least

ours speak of their upside as animal hospitals and, most gratifyingly,

nurseries.