Rare Asian elephant birth caught on camera, seen taking first steps

CHESTER, England, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Visitors at the Chester Zoo on Saturday got their first glimpses at a rare Asian elephant born at the zoo just hours before.

The birth of the female elephant was caught on CCTV overnight Friday into Saturday after a 22-month gestation period. Zookeepers said mother Sundara and daughter were healthy and accepting visitors on Saturday. The elephant will be named at a later date.

The birth was captured on CCTV to allow zookeepers to monitor the event.

"The arrival of a calf is a great family occasion for the elephant herd and brings the whole group together. As soon as Sundara began showing early signs of labour, you could see the rest of the family knew something special was about to happen," Richard Fraser, assistant team manager of elephants at Chester Zoo, said.

BREAKING NEWS: Endangered Asian elephant born overnight!
Our CCTV caught the amazing moment and the calf's first attempts at standing up. pic.twitter.com/nubDriDThI

— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) December 17, 2016

A short time later, the zoo posted video of the baby elephant taking her first wobbly steps.

Here is our beautiful new Asian elephant calf, just hours old, taking her first steps outside! pic.twitter.com/NMw3U0ZzEh

— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) December 17, 2016

Asian elephants, native to south and southeastern Asia, are endangered and live about 60 years. They are regularly killed and injured in conflicts with humans, zoo keepers said.