12.52 pm, Friday March 12 2010

Melbourne's new elephant is a water baby

18:27 AEST Tue Feb 9 2010
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She's a water baby!

Melbourne Zoo's still unnamed elephant calf, just three weeks old, loves the water.

The daughter of Dokkoon goes on public display on Wednesday for the first time and if Tuesday's media debut is anything to go by, the public will love her.

While Dokkoon and great aunt Mek Kapah cooled off in the pond at the elephant barn, the youngster was literally throwing herself around in the water.

Slapping her trunk, running wildly, losing her feet, fully submerging herself - having the time of her life.

When keepers brought out a bale of hay for the two older elephants, the calf ran full speed out of the water and started rolling in it.

Mum quickly grabbed what she could before her calf mixed the hay up with water and wet sand from the pond.

"It would be like someone rolling in your salad," curator Dan Maloney said.

Since coming into the world in at 110kg on January 16, the calf has been putting away 12 to 14 litres of milk a day and is now around 138kg.

"She's very confident, very self assured, very intrepid," Mr Maloney said.

The keepers have been introducing the baby to Mek Kapah since the birth and the bond between the two has grown quickly.

The baby would run between the two older elephants while playing in the water and getting under her mother for shade from the hot sun whenever she took a breather from her play.

At one stage, she had an itch on her backside and rubbed it up against one of Dokkoon's front legs.

The calf is just the second elephant born in Australia - the other being born at Taronga Zoo.

She will also have a playmate later this year with another of the zoo's Thai elephant, Kulab, due to give birth in August or September.

The calf will be on show for the public from Wednesday between the hours of 11am to noon and 2.30pm to 3.30pm (AEDT).

Zookeepers will put forward five or six Thai names for the new baby and leave it up to the public to decide.

 
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