An Asian elephant calf was born at Zurich Zoo and its name will start with the letter Z
A 19-year-old Asian elephant at the Zurich Zoo gave birth this weekend to a male calf whose name, starting with the letter Z, will be announced this week.
A light-sensitive monitoring camera picked up the birth before dawn Saturday and the baby's earliest, wobbly steps inside the zoo's Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park. It's now home to six of the pachyderms: four females including mother Farha; bull elephant and father Thai; and the new calf.
Zoo Director Severin Dressen said staff were happy but 'still cautious' about the birth.
'The first weeks of a calf's life are always the most delicate — even if the calf currently appears healthy and fit,' he said in a statement.
The Asian elephant, or Elephas maximus, is a critically endangered species with about 50,000 estimated in the wild, and their numbers are declining, the zoo said. The zoo breeds the elephants as part of conservation efforts under the European Endangered Species Program, Dressen said.
Zoo staffers made sure to keep Farha — already a mother of three — away from another female named Panang, who has had little previous experience with young animals, and the separation will continue for the coming days.
Such births are relatively rare in zoos compared to those of other species because of the elephant's nearly two-year gestation period, zoo officials said.
A zoo spokesman said the name of the new calf will be announced after a staff meeting on Wednesday, but 2025 is a 'Z' year so the moniker will automatically start with that letter.
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Daily Mirror
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- Daily Mirror
'I survived plane crash by sitting in seat 11A like sole Air India survivor'
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Scottish Sun
13-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
I escaped devastating plane crash that left 101 dead…while in SAME 11A seat as Brit sole survivor of Air India disaster
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A LUCKY man who survived a fatal plane crash has revealed he was sat in the same seat as the Brit sole survivor in the Air India disaster. Ruangsak Loychusak was onboard the Thai Airways flight TG261 from Bangkok to India when it stalled and plunged into a swamp - killing 101 people on board. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 13 Ruangsak Loychusak was on the doomed Thai Airways flight TG261 flight that crashed and killed 101 people Credit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress 13 Loychusak has now revealed he was sat on seat 11A Credit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress 13 A picture of Loychusak being rescued Credit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress 13 Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is the sole survivor of the Air India Crash 13 Picture showing his flight's boarding pass But the singer revealed he was sitting in seat 11A when the plane went down in 1998. 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My treatment is going well, and the people are very supportive." 13 Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky 13 The plane crashed into a doctor's hostel Credit: EPA 13 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 242 passengers on board - including 53 Brits - smashed into a doctors' hostel in Ahmedabad in the west of India. The plane was headed to London Gatwick with 232 passengers and 10 crew on board when it crashed just seconds after take-off. The Dreamliner lost contact just seconds after take-off, according to flight tracking website Flightradar. A final alert was last logged less than a minute after it started the journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. It had only reached 625ft at the time, officials believe. Seconds before the crash, the Boeing was filmed flying low over the Meghani Nagar residential area with the pilots appearing to be in a desperate bid to keep the plane in the air. 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Metro
11-06-2025
- Metro
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