Elephants welcome trunked bundle of joy

SYDNEY: A 120-kilogram, big-eared and long-nosed bundle of joy was welcomed in Australia as an important step in helping to save the endangered Asian elephant.

The male calf - so far without a name - was born in Sydney's Taronga Zoo on Saturday and was healthy and generating many curious responses from among its herd, zoo officials said.

The calf was born to Thong Dee, one of a group of elephants brought to the zoo from Thailand in 2006 after logging camps were closed and there was no work for them at tourist operations in the country.