It’s scary enough taking your first steps in the world. But when a crowd is watching you, it can be even more frightening.
That certainly seems to be the case for this three-week-old elephant calf ‘Baby’ making her first public appearance at Melbourne Zoo.
She kept very close to her mother, narrowly avoiding being trampled on as she rolled on the ground. Then, to the delight of the zoo’s visitors, she had her first dip in the water.
Mind my trunk, mum: She narrowly avoids being trampled on as she rolls on the ground
Her look of pure terror turned to delight as she sprayed her trunk, guaranteeing herself as the zoo’s prime attraction for years to come.
Named simply ‘Baby’ for the time-being, she weighed in at a healthy 110kg when she was born last month after a 22-month pregnancy. But she’s been putting away 12 to 14 litres of milk a day since then and now weighs 138kg.
Baby is only the second elephant born in Australia and the first from artificial insemination.
Baby’s first bath: She looks rather worried, then delighted, as she gets a good soaking from her mother