Chester Zoo is celebrating today following the birth of rare Asian elephant calf

Staff at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of rare Asian elephant calf today.

The newborn arrived overnight on Thursday to mum Thi Hi Way after an assumed gestation of 25 months.

The new youngster was up on its feet within minutes, suckling from mum and bonding closely with the rest of the family herd, including one-year-old calves, Indali and Aayu.

Asian elephants are highly threatened in the wild and Chester Zoo has been working in India for over 10 years to protect the species from human-wildlife conflict.

The new calf is an invaluable addition to the breeding programme for the endangered species.

On Sunday 12 August the zoo is holding its second sponsored walk to raise money for our Never Forget campaign.

Summer Stamped 2018 will take place within the zoo, and aims to raise money to fund recent into a vaccine for EEHV, the devastating virus that kills young elephants both in zoos and the wild.

The day will give those taking part a chance to walk around the zoo before it opens to the public, more info here