Miracle elephant ‘who died in womb’

A BABY elephant thought to have died in the womb made its first public appearance at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo amid predictions it will make a full recovery from its arduous birth.

The male calf, nicknamed Mr Shuffles by zoo staff, wobbled out from a barn into the elephant enclosure with its mother, Porntip, four days after amazing keepers with its remarkable survival.

“He’s looking around and seeing the world,” zoo elephant manager Gary Miller said of the 116 kilogram (255 pound) animal’s short foray before the public.

“He’s just excited to be alive.”

Miller said the indications were the elephant would have no permanent problems despite being stuck in a position in the womb which experts considered would result in death to both mother and calf in the wild.

“Because of his compromised position as he came out and was born, we didn’t know if he had brain damage from lack of oxygen from such a prolonged birth,” he told reporters. “I’d say he’s going to be 100%.”

The baby elephant arrived last Wednesday morning, two days after zoo officials said they believed it had died in the womb.

They later said the animal may have fallen into the coma during the marathon nine-day labour which meant its heartbeat was not detected. The zoo, which has been flooded with notes of sympathy when the calf was thought to have died, has called on the public to choose a name for the Asian elephant, the second born at Taronga as part of a breeding programme.

A herd was brought to Australia from Thailand in 2006 despite warnings from environmentalists that elephants should not be kept in enclosures.

In keeping with its Thai heritage, the zoo has put forward seven possible names including Pathi Harn (miracle) and Mongkon (auspicious), to be decided by the public.