If elephants are cute, elephant babies are cuter! Newborn elephants enter the world at a whopping 77-113 kg, stand at about 91 cm at the shoulder and are able to drink up to 11.4 litres of milk a day!

A mother elephant?s loving care towards her baby is great to watch. Baby elephants are looked after and suckled not only by their mothers, but also by other females in the herd. The herd gathers around a newborn to welcome it ? after minutes of its birth ? trumpeting, screaming and rumbling their hellos! Tiny calves that are small enough to walk under their mothers remain constantly with them as they can be crushed by mistake by others in the herd. If the baby roams any more than 18 m away, it is immediately fetched back.

An elephant, like humans, has a long, pampered childhood. Even a nine-year-old elephant spends half its time within five metres of its mother! Amazingly, the bond between mother-daughter elephants can last up to 50 years.