The Dallas Zoo welcomed its newest resident into the world last week — a 230 lb male elephant calf.
"We have been excitedly anticipating this for almost 22 months, if you can believe it," Stephanie Allard, chief mission officer at the Dallas Zoo, told NTX Now's Miranda Suarez. "That is how long elephant gestation is. So, I'm sure that Mlilo, his mom, was quite ready for him to enter the world."
Born on July 26, 2026, she said the not-so-little guy acclimated quickly, already standing on his own and nursing within an hour of being born.
View this post on Instagram shared by Dallas Zoo (@dallaszoo).
This is the second calf born to Mlilo and Tendaji, who Allard called "fantastic parents." It's not just mom and dad helping to raise the unnamed baby, either. Allard said he was born directly into the herd.
"So other elephants were present with mom and very quickly helped to get him to his feet and helped to keep close watch over him," she said. "That's such an incredible moment to witness."
But she said it's going to take some time before the public can see the calf in person. First, zoologists have to make sure he's confident navigating his environment and has been introduced to the rest of the herd.
"Once all of that has been completed, then we will be able to introduce him to the habitat and the giants at the savanna and guests will be be able delighted, just as we are," Allard said.
She also praised the zoo's conservation efforts.
"Every elephant that is born is truly a celebration," Allard said. "Having elephants in a growing population in human care means that we can learn so much more about them and that we can connect people with them and engage them into not just being interested, but also taking any type of conservation action that may help to protect them in the wild."
Miranda Suarez is a co-host of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org.
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