San Diego Zoo Safari Park has another big baby to take care of.
The park's 28-year-old African elephant Umngani gave birth to a 281-pound female calf on Wednesday. It was the biggest calf ever born at the Safari Park, zoo officials said.
Newborn elephant calves generally weigh between 200 and 268 pounds at birth.
Elephant keepers have been anticipating its birth but the calf came earlier than expected. It was born overnight and the birth was captured on the park's security cameras.
"[Umngani] has given birth three other times, and those calves arrived late — so when we checked on her first thing [Wednesday] morning, we were surprised and thrilled to see her caring for her healthy newborn," Safari Park animal care supervisor Curtis Lehman said.
The unnamed female appears healthy and has been introduced to other elephants.
It was the second elephant birth in two months. A 277-pound male calf arrived on Aug. 12 and has been named Umzula-zuli.
Local
The elephants can be seen on a Safari Park webcam.
