Disney’s Animal Kingdom recently welcomed a new female elephant calf, Stella, to its family. This is the third calf for Donna, a 28-year-old elephant, who has given birth to two other female calves. Stella raises the number of elephants in the Disney’s Animal Kingdom herd to 10, which previously included three males and six females.
Before Stella was welcomed to the savanna, she spent a few days backstage nursing and bonding with her mom and getting to know some of the other elephants in the herd.
The animal care staff at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is world renowned for their work with elephants. So if you’re a pregnant elephant, that’s where you want to be. Donna’s care included regular ultrasounds, veterinarian checkups, and hormone level monitoring to ensure a healthy birth.
Elephants in the wild are at constant risk of poaching and also face habitat loss from encroaching human development and other conflicts. The Disney Conservation Fund works with Save the Elephants to help protect these mighty creatures in the wild.
For a chance to see Stella yourself, take a two-week Kilimanjaro Safaris adventure where you can see the new baby and her mom exploring the savanna.
(Photo courtesy Disney. David Roark, photographer)