Continuing my trip to Chester zoo the first animals I saw were the elephants. They have Asian Elephants at the zoo. These have smaller ears than African Elephants. I also didn’t know that they had a baby born this year. The zoo captured the birth on CCTV and the video is worth a watch.. http://www.chesterzoo.org/attractions-and-exhibits/zoo-news/elephant-calf-born-2015.
Nandita was born in August 2015 and there is not much cuter than a baby elephant. The parents were keeping her close on the day we visited. Asian Elephants are huge then can grow up to three meters tall.
Obviously its nicer to see them roaming the wild but they are becoming endangered, if not for their ivory they have to compete for land with the farmers.
The parents were keeping close tabs on her the day I visited.
Sadly this young Elephant was just having a drink and not wanting a shower! Lovely water feature for them to play in.
The great thing about days out at the zoo is getting to learn a little more about them. I came across these little fellas at the zoo and unknowing to me they are the closest living relative to the Elephant…. the Rock Hyrax…
They apparently have acute hearing and have hooves rather than claws on their toes, they also have two large incisors, that continually grow which is similar to an elephant’s tusks.
The Rock Hyrax has a pregnancy that lasts for around seven and a half months , which another sign of their relation the Elephants, as most small mammals have a much shorter gestation period.
Thank you for reading my post and I hope you liked the images. http://www.meltaylorphotography.co.uk
