Baby elephant takes its first steps after being born in San Diego Zoo

Curtis Lehman, elephant care manager at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, describes how the park welcomed its first third-time mother recently.

The birth of the new calf took place at night, with volunteer staff having to initially supervise the process.

The new baby elephant appears to be more steady than you’d expect at this stage, according to Lehman, but they’re waiting to see how they take to the nursing stage. African elephant babies are generally around 200-300 pounds at birth, and start nursing within the first couple of hours of being born.