{"id":212384,"date":"2025-10-20T04:22:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T04:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/212384\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T04:22:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T04:22:08","slug":"blackpool-zoo-shares-adorable-moment-baby-elephant-snuggles-up-to-her-mum-as-they-slept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/212384\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackpool zoo shares adorable moment baby elephant snuggles up to her mum as they slept"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blackpool Zoo has shared photos of a baby elephant snuggling up to her mum as they slept.<\/p>\n

CCTV footage showed the one-month-old calf sleeping next to her mother during the night.<\/p>\n

The zoo described the images as a “heart-warming moment” between elephants Zaiya and Tara.<\/p>\n

Officials said it reflected the “deep, protective bond between a mother and her calf”.<\/p>\n

Zaiya, an Asian elephant calf, was born on September 2 in what was described as a “rare” birth.<\/p>\n

The birth followed a two-year-long pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Blackpool Zoo said it was “thrilled” with its first successful female elephant birth.<\/p>\n

The indoor elephant enclosure was closed to the public for nearly a month while the herd developed “crucial bonds” with the calf.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Blackpool Zoo has shared photos of a baby elephant snuggling up to her mum as they slept<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

BLACKPOOL ZOO<\/p>\n

Darren Webster, director at the Zoo, said it was a “truly historic moment”.<\/p>\n

He added: “This achievement further reinforces our dedication to the conservation of all endangered species, and I could not be prouder of our team.”<\/p>\n

Asian elephants are smaller than their African counterparts, with adult males weighing up to 5,000 kg and standing six to 12 feet tall.<\/p>\n

They have smaller, more rounded ears than African elephants. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

CCTV footage showed the one-month-old calf with her mother<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

BLACKPOOL ZOO<\/p>\n

Only some males have large tusks, while females and other males often have small tusks called tushes or no tusks at all.<\/p>\n

Their trunks have a single “finger-like” projection at the tip.<\/p>\n

In the wild, Asian elephants can live for 60 to 70 years.<\/p>\n

The species has been listed as endangered since 1986, with populations estimated to have declined by at least 50 per cent over the last three generations.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Zaiya, an Asian elephant calf, was born on September 2 <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

BLACKPOOL ZOO<\/p>\n

As herbivores, they spend a large portion of their day feeding on grasses, bark, roots, leaves, and stems, consuming up to 150 kg of vegetation daily.<\/p>\n

Asian elephants inhabit grasslands, evergreen and deciduous forests, and scrublands. Their range covers 13 countries across South and Southeast Asia and southern China.<\/p>\n

These intelligent and social animals typically live in small herds of six to seven related females, led by a matriarch.<\/p>\n

Calves are born after a 22-month gestation period, the longest of any land mammal. <\/p>\n

In the wild, they are cared for and protected by the entire herd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blackpool Zoo has shared photos of a baby elephant snuggling up to her mum as they slept. CCTV…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[35884,2851,50,65089,90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-212384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-across-the-uk","tag-animals","tag-news","tag-north-west-of-england","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}