Big party in Eindhoven Zoo: Asian elephant Rashmi is born

Big party in Eindhoven Zoo: an elephant has been born! Mother Htoo Yin Aye gave birth to a calf last night. The little one, the gender is not yet known, has been named Rashmi.

The little Asian elephant and his or her mother are doing well. This little one had a long wait: mother Htoo Yin Aye was already due in December. "But with an elephant you have a margin of three months, so it could also have been March," says Stephan Rijnen, head zookeeper at Eindhoven Zoo. An average elephant pregnancy lasts 22 months.

The calf was born early Friday morning at 3:30 am. "Such a birth is always a bit exciting anyway. But it all looks very good." According to Rijnen, everyone at the zoo near Eindhoven had been looking forward to the birth. "It is still very special to experience this and to see such a little one walking around. We therefore hope that we can share this with visitors again soon."

PartyRashmi, which means sunlight, is the first Asian elephant born in Europe this year. In the past 12 months, two other calves gave birth in the Netherlands. At Eindhoven Zoo, big sister Jing was the last birth, in March 2018.

This birth is the second party this week at Eindhoven Zoo. On Thursday, the zoo in Mierlo also won bronze in the ANWB election "Best Outing of North Brabant.

EndangeredThe Asian elephant, found mainly in India, Sumatra and Borneo, is an endangered species. They prefer to live in spacious, wooded areas where there is plenty of food to be had. However, these forests are being cut down en masse. In addition, this species of elephant is being hunted.

Consequently, there is a European breeding program for the Asian elephant. This program aims to ensure a healthy population in the zoo so that the species can be preserved. Eindhoven Zoo also supports Stichting Wildlife. This foundation supports projects in the wild through donations, such as the World Land Trust, which is dedicated to the elephant in India.

5000 kgThe Asian elephant is smaller than African elephants. Its shoulder height is about between 2 and 3.5 meters and its weight between 3000 and 5000 kg. Per day, the elephant eats about 150 kilograms of branches, leaves, grass, fruits and roots.

The Asian elephant's molars to grind food with are unique. As the molars wear down, they crumble and new molars slide forward from behind. In total, an elephant can change his or her molars five times.

FeatureIn addition, Asian elephants have tusks that grow about 17 inches per year. In this species of elephant, only males have such large tusks, females do not. Also characteristic of the Asian elephant is the trunk, which has a finger on the top. In fact, African elephants have a finger on the bottom and top of the trunk.

Want to know more about the Asian elephant? Readhere all information.