Days after welcoming its first-ever African elephant calf, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has another baby elephant to introduce.
According to a release from the Nebraska zoo, the zoo’s 13-year-old African elephant Claire gave birth to a male calf at 9:08 p.m on Jan. 30.
The currently unnamed male calf is the second African elephant born at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo in the zoo’s history. The first was born just a few weeks prior, on Jan. 7, to mother Kiki and father Callee. The zoo named the female calf Eugenia. She and Kiki are both in good health following the birth. Eugenia already weighs over 187 pounds.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo says that the male calf and his mom Claire are doing well too. The younger baby elephant is waiting for his first weigh-in.
The zoo was ready for the male calf’s arrival. A few days before the baby elephant’s birth, the zoo put Claire on a 24-hour watch after noticing a significant drop in the mother elephant’s progesterone levels — a sign that she would go into labor soon.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(869x424:871x426):format(webp)/baby-elephant-omaha-2-67c2a37864104ad1b47f68b4d4d69c53.jpg)
Claire and her calf are behind the scenes at the zoo’s Elephant Family Quarters. The family will stay out of the public eye for the time being to give the mother and son time to bond and nurse.
Callee the 21-year-old dad of Eugenia is also the male calf’s father.
Animal lovers will get the chance to see both baby elephants in the future once the Elephant Family Quarters are open to the public again.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo will provide updates on the calves’ public debut date and how to visit the baby animals on its social media pages, per the zoo’s release.