Baby elephant makes long-awaited debut at Dallas Zoo
DALLAS -- Visitors to the Dallas Zoo can now observe a baby elephant whose mother gave birth this spring after being rescued from the African nation of Swaziland.
The Dallas Zoo announced Wednesday that the male calf named Ajabu is on public display with his mother in the Giants of the Savanna exhibit.
Ajabu was born May 14 to Mlilo. She was pregnant when she arrived this year at the Dallas Zoo.
Ajabu weighed 175 pounds at birth. He’s since grown to more than 330 pounds. He’s almost 4 feet tall. The zoo says the calf is still nursing but some of his teeth have emerged and he also eats hay and produce.
CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported that the zoo baby-proofed the Savannah habitat to make sure the baby elephant is safe.
Harrison Edell the Senior Director of Living Conditions told CBS DFW that the exhibit was designed for big elephants, and to keep Ajabu safe, they had to make some adjustments. Those adjustments included temporary barriers around the pools so Ajabu only has access to shallow water, and they also had to move some of the boulders around.
“But he’s out there now and he’s making use of the space,” said Edell.
The Giants of the Savanna habitat features animals including elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions and cheetahs.