A SECOND rare Asian elephant has been born at Chester Zoo in one month.

The male calf arrived to 20-year-old mum Sithami Hi Way last night after a 22 month pregnancy and a 20 minute labour.

Keepers stayed up late to monitor the birth and say both mum and calf are doing well.

He is the second arrival to be welcomes by the Zoo’s elephant herd including one-month-old baby Indali Hi Way who was born just before Christmas.

Asian elephants are highly threatened in the wild and at Chester Zoo conservationists are working in India to protect them from human-wildlife conflict.

The new addition is an incredible boost to the breeding programme for endangered species.

Team manager of elephants Andy McKenzie said: “Two births in one month is momentous for our Hi Way family herd of Asian elephants. Elephants are hugely sociable animals, so this is an incredible boost to the group.

“Mum Sithami delivered her calf onto deep, soft sand and her instincts immediately took hold as she started to stimulate him, encouraging him to get to his feet by kicking up sand around him. The rest of the herd then excitedly gathered around and within just a few minutes they had helped him up, which is great to see.

“The new baby joined one-month-old calf Indali, who was born in December. It’s great for each of them to have a playmate, not to mention one-year-old Nandita, who we’re sure will enjoy pushing the youngsters around for a while!

“Equally importantly, this is magnificent for the conservation breeding programme.”

Chief executive officer Dr Mark Pilgrim added: “Asian elephants are an endangered species, threatened by habitat loss, poaching, disease and direct conflict with humans.

“We hope that news of her arrival will generate more much needed awareness of these incredible animals and the pressures for survival that they are faced with in the wild.”