Baby elephant gets used to her new home in Bedfordshire
The calf was born in ZSL Whipsnade Zoo to mum Donna
An endangered elephant born just last week is getting used to her new surroundings at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire.
The calf was born to 13-year-old Donna and welcomed into the world by the rest of the herd, including her grandmother Kaylee.
The new arrival is an important addition to the European breeding programme for Asian elephants - which in the wild are threatened by the illegal wildlife trade, habitat fragmentation, and climate change.
Deputy Team Leader of elephants, Mark Howes said: "these guys contribute to helping educating our public and contribute to scientific research that we're doing on the species all the time."
The yet-to-be-named baby is starting to explore her home and visitors to the zoo should be able to catch a glimpse of her already.
Mr. Howes added: "as she gets stronger, she's going to start using that amazing appendage that she's got - her trunk, to try and explore everything around her.
"As a female she will stay with us, so she's going to stay with her family, and with her family group, the same as they would naturally do in the wild.
"Now the males, we will move around and they will become a part of that breeding population. But a female little girl, she's going to stay here with us potentially for the next sixty years."
Sadly, elephants are considered by conservationists to be one of the most persecuted species in the world, facing daily threats in the wild from poachers, conflict with the communities they live alongside, droughts, as well as habitat loss and degradation.