Paw Print

It’s a boy!  After weeks of keeping round the clock vigil around Felix the expecting African elephant delivers her healthy bouncing baby boy - all 290 pounds of him.  Felix, 24, who is considered petite in African elephant standards only 7,490 pounds endured a 22-month pregnancy, a mere 3 hours of labor, and poof a bouncing baby boy.  The yet to be named calf was up and standing within 30 minutes - of course, he’d been laying down for 22 months!  Interestingly, baby elephants stay babies for a much longer time not seeking independence from the mother for three to five years.  Felix is being a doting mom while other resident elephants at the Maryland Zoo Dolly and Anna, are also keeping a keen eye on the little guy.  On average only five African elephants like Felix and her calf are born in the United States each year.  This is Felix’s second birth, she had another male calf five years ago at Riddle’s Elephant Sanctuary and Wildlife Center in Arkansas where Felix was retired after a career in show business.  Felix arrived to the Maryland Zoo from Riddle 19 months pregnant with Tuffy, a male elephant, although not the new calf’s father.
Congratulations Felix and The Maryland Zoo!