Houston Zoo Celebrates Birth of New Elephant After 21 Months of Pregnancy

Three cheers for Houston Zoo's newest elephant addition, Kirby! Hip Hip, Hooray! Hip Hip-whatever, you get it.

Houston Zoo Newborn Elephant

According to Chron, 314-pound Kirby was born to 34-year-old Asian elephant Shanti last week. Get this, Shanti was in labor for a total of 19 hours prior to Kirby's birth... ouch. This is also Shanti's seventh calf born at the Houston Zoo.

Just take a look at this little girl:

Just look at those... eyes.

Kirby was born at the Houston Zoo inside the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat cow barn under the supervision of Shanti's keepers.

Chron included a statement from the Houston Zoo, saying that the newborn calf was standing within six minutes and was nursing within 90 minutes of being born.

The zoo and veterinary staff were closely monitoring Kirby and her mother, Shanti, afterwards to make sure they were staying healthy and that they properly developed their bonding and communication.

The staff were also keeping an eye on Shanti during her pregnancy which lasted a whopping 21 months! That's one of the longest pregnancies of any land mammal.

The Houston Zoo made the formal announcement in an X post:

Here's to you, Kirby! May your life be long and filled with many peanuts.