The animal is a little insecure about its feet, but adorable to look at

Aug 13, 2012 12:15 GMT  ·  By
Newly-born baby elephant struggles to keep its balance it its first weeks of life
   Newly-born baby elephant struggles to keep its balance it its first weeks of life

Having just turned nineteen days old, Rungwe, a baby African elephant born at a wildlife park in France, is still trying to own up to the challenges brought about by life outside its mother's womb and inside its enclosure.

Naturally, its wobbly ways attracted countless visitors, who came to the Beauval wildlife park hoping to catch a glimpse at the baby elephant and its over-protecting mother, which keeps a close eye on it to make sure its being quite inexperienced does not lead to it accidentally injuring itself.

Zoo keepers explain that Rungwe was born as a result of artificial insemination, because its mother, N'dala, had some problems when it came to conceiving. Thus, it took about four years since N'dala entered the breeding program and until Rungwe finally came to greet wildlife park employees.

“The birth was stressful because as it was a first birth, her first baby, she had no experience, she wasn't surrounded by experienced females, so actually we had to stand in for the experienced females,” explains one member of Beauval's staff.

With elephant poaching being a major problem nowadays, the birth of this baby brings new hope for the survival of the species.