So, do elephants intentionally kill their young?
Poor old Dumbo, it’s hardly the display of loving motherly devotion most newborns receive. The 250lb elephant calf made headlines on Wednesday when he was rescued after his mother appeared to try to crush him, then drown him in their enclosure at Friedrichsfelde Animal Park in Berlin. The incident turned the new arrival – nicknamed Dumbo but officially still nameless – into Germany’s top animal celebrity overnight and also made headlines around the world. THE ANSWER Some have been known to kill their calves in captivity, but there is no conclusive reason why Staff played down the incident, saying it is a natural reflex action of elephant mothers to stimulate their newborns to stand by nudging them. But while African elephant Pori may have been lovingly, yet clumsily, trying to do this, she has history – she crushed her first baby to death. Ian Redmond, wildlife consultant with the Born Free Foundation and elephant expert, says Pori’s behaviour will be influenced by what she learned abo
