14 DAY TRIAL // Zoo Vienna is now home to a baby African elephant. Vets say that the elephant calf is a girl, and that all signs indicate that she is as healthy as a horse.
Luckily, she hasn't yet taken up neighing. Here's hoping she never will. Sources tell us that the baby elephant was born on September 4 to 28-year-old Tonga. The latter seems to have the whole mom thing figured out, and never leaves the calf out of her sight.
“Tonga is the matriarch of our herd and generally a very balanced animal,” keepers explain.
Like many other baby elephants before her, this calf was born through artificial insemination.
However, what makes her unique is the fact that, rather than using fresh or chilled male gametes, vets used frozen ones.
Apparently, the calf's father is living at the Phinda Gamer Reserve in Africa. He and her mother have never met.