Elephant baby at Budapest Zoo – VIDEO

Arun, the supercute elephant baby is the Budapest Zoo’s most popular animal now. He was born on 8th November, as the second calf of the Budapest Zoo’s breeding pair Angele & Assam. Read here the chief vet’s and the curator’s short summary on the birth!

On the dawn of 8th November 2018, a baby Asiatic elephant was born in Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden. He is a male calf, and he has been named Arun (Sanskrit for dawn) following a public vote. We have already published a short film on Arun’s birth and his first steps. Now you can read here a short summary on the birth by the Budapest Zoo’s chief veterinarian Endre Sós, and the curator István Vidákovits.

There is no need for a zoo veterinarian

Expectations were high. Angele’s second parturition was still a big event at the Budapest Zoo, as (apart from her previous delivery in 2013) the last baby elephant was born in 1961 in the Budapest Zoo’s institution. In February, 2013 when Asha (Angele’s previous female calf) was born there was a real need for zoo vets. The baby (though she had a suckling reflex) did not want to suckle – first was attracted by a metal door, later did not find the teats. Intensive follow-up and constant monitoring (including standing sedation for the mother and feeding via a stomach tube for the calf) resulted a successful outcome and Asha’s mother-rearing.