The Cabárceno Nature Park has welcomed a new specimen of African elephant, the twenty-fourth to be born in the Cantabrian facility since its inauguration in 1990 and the second this year, after the birth of Beatuca on January 18.
It is about a female that was born in the early hours of yesterday, Wednesday, with a weight of about 90 kilos and that is the daughter of Hilda, also given birth in Cabárceno 22 years ago, which, in turn, makes the new breeds in the thirteenth second generation elephant born in the park.
The small pachyderm is Hilda's fifth calf and we will have to wait for the paternity test to confirm which of the three males, Jums, Jumar or Yambo (the latter transferred to a zoo in the Netherlands) is the progenitor, as reported by the Government of Cantabria in a press release.
The experience of the mother has led to the delivery, after 21 months and 16 days of gestation, taking place naturally and without setbacks, which facilitates the integration with the rest of the herd of the small specimen, which this morning has gone out to the grassland to get acquainted with the other 20 elephants that already lived in the enclosure.
In this way, visitors who come to Cabárceno this Easter will already be able to see the little elephant.
With her fifth birth at the age of 22, Hilda has become one of the most prolific females in Europe and, according to veterinarians and keepers, with a long life ahead of her to continue reproducing. Martín, Saja and Maruca, three of her offspring, also live in the Cantabrian park, while the fourth died.
With this 24th birth, the Cabárceno Park continues to set milestones in the captive reproduction of this seriously endangered species.
The Cantabrian park is the facility in the world where the most elephants have been born in captivity and also holds the record for having the largest family of specimens of this species outside of Africa, the regional Executive has highlighted.
The family of pachyderms lives in a 25-hectare enclosure, made up of a large natural area, a stable of more than 1,000 square meters and a pool with a capacity of more than 5 million liters of water.
