Baby elephant born at Amsterdam zoo during festive season
By Simone Jacobs
Artis zoo in Amsterdam has received a little Christmas gift in the form of the arrival of a baby elephant. The Dutch zoo has now opened submissions to name the Asian elephant born on Christmas Eve.
Artis welcomes elephant calf during Christmas
On December 24, a baby elephant was born at Artis, bringing more festive cheer to the Dutch zoo. The little bull joins the herd of five Asian elephants currently at the zoo: his mother Thong Thai, who is the matriarch, and his four older siblings.
"Throughout the day, we slowly watched the herd change. Late in the afternoon, we went into the barn for one last check. We were alert, but hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. Yet, the calf was born almost immediately,” Artis animal care leader Peter Bleesing said in a press release. “The birth took about 10 minutes. The herd didn't leave her side for a moment, and a few minutes later, the calf was standing firmly on all fours."
Give Artis’ new baby elephant a name
Artis is now allowing people to enter name suggestions for the elephant calf. The zoo is looking for a name with a nod to Asia and preferably with a connection to Artis or with a special meaning.
The person who provides the name for the new addition will get a “behind-the-scenes look with the keepers”. If you have a name in mind, you can enter it here. The baby elephant is expected to be seen outdoors in the next few days.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more