The footage taken by Adam Fillmore and posted on Facebook by South African National Parks shows a pregnant elephant giving birth to her calf while surrounded by her herd.
“Amazing sighting of an elephant giving birth this morning. We were privileged to witness the birth and interactions with the rest of the herd (around 60 elephants), and the electric atmosphere they created with their vocalizing and stomach rumbling. A lifetime sighting,” Fillmore wrote in a caption to the video, which was reposted on Roar Wildlife News’ Facebook page.
Elephants are highly social animals, meaning births are a special occasion. Often, other members of the herd will participate in looking after and raising the young, as well as the mother.
David Daballen, director of field operations at elephant conservation charity Save the Elephants, told Newsweek that this footage “is wonderful and rare.”
“Although elephant births are common, seeing one occur in the wild is a special event. That’s because most elephants seem to give birth at night and the births are incredibly quick – usually taking only minutes,” Daballen said.
“Elephants are similar to humans in that they share a gamut of emotions. In the footage, you can see the rest of the family trumpeting in celebration and trying to touch the newborn. The protective and stressed mother is swinging her head, throwing dust and digging, possibly in an attempt to shield her baby from being trampled in the excitement.”
As the calf is born in the footage, the mother appears to nudge it gently with her foot to make sure it is alive.
The rest of the elephants can be heard trumpeting straight after the birth.
The mother touches the calf with her trunk as it starts moving under the amniotic sac. The calf can be seen wiggling its legs from under the sac.
The mother starts kicking dust over the baby as other members of the herd gather around.
Save the Elephants observes elephants in the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya.
“Our researchers have also seen the same excited elephant behavior during matings and family reunions. In 2014, one of our team was lucky to witness an elephant birth in Samburu National Reserve,” Daballen said. “In 2009, a member of the public filmed Annabel from the Royals giving birth to a calf later named Toto Raj. I’m sure it was a beautiful and memorable experience that he will never forget.”
