Copenhagen ZOO in Denmark had huge expectations to the birth of the baby elephant set to happen in the end of August. Unfortunately the elephant was stillborn on Monday 27 August.
Due to a whole in the atrium to the heart of the baby elephant there was no chance for it to survive, Copenhagen ZOO told on their Facebook page after post-mortem examination of the elephant body.
The mother elephant Surin is a gift from the people of the Surin province in Thailand, and the birth of the baby elephant was long waited and expected not only by the elephant keepers. Elephant fans and other Zoo enthusiasts had the chance to follow the pregnancy and birth for the last weeks via Facebook.
The last days up to the birth the zookeepers even placed a web cam in the elephant house, so that people could follow the process closely both day and night. The Zoo also released a picture of the last ultra sound scanning before the birth.
On Monday 27 August Copenhagen Zoo posted following message on their Facebook page:
“The baby elephant was born at 03.15 am, but it was unfortunately stillborn. Zoos vets and elephant keepers are investigating the reason for the death. More information to come”
Read also this article referred to by Flemming Winther Nielsen in the comments below.
You are quite right, Flemming. The article has been amended and your link has been added at the bottom of the article.
If you want to know more about the Royal elephants in Copenhagen Zoo, please search an article in Scandasia archive: ‘Elephants are elephants – and Symbols’
Surin
Please take note that H.M. The King presented Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik with two elephants when they visited, but the third: Surin, was a gift from ‘The people of Surin’ represented by a local businessman.
Flemming