Zookeepers mourn loss of two baby Asian elephants

Conservationists at a zoo are mourning the loss of two "eagerly anticipated" baby elephants.

Blackpool Zoo said a three-day-old Asian elephant calf died on 7 November after contracting an infection due to feeding problems in its first few hours of life.

"We are immensely grateful to the team, knowing that we did everything possible to try to save the calf, and wish to thank them for their huge efforts," said Adam Kenyon, head of the zoo's elephant section.

A zoo spokesperson revealed that another calf died in its mother's womb in September after failing to develop.

Calves need their first feed within six to 12 hours of birth but zoo staff had to wait 24 hours until the herd allowed them to feed Esha's calf with expressed milk and plasma from Esha's mother Noorjahan.

Esha had found rearing her calf very challenging and would not enable it to suckle, despite guidance from Noorjahan, the zoo spokesperson said.

While the calf initially responded well to the additional support provided, it went on to have seizures on 6 November and died the following morning.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the calf had developed an infection after missing vital nutrients and vitamins from the colostrum in its first hours of life.

Noorjahan's own calf was stillborn in late September, said the spokesperson.

"All signs exhibited prior to this event had been encouraging but, as with any pregnancy, we knew there were many inherent risks that could lead to complications during gestation and delivery."

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