It's not every day you see an animal birth happen on film — or happen this quickly!
In the video below, posted on June 13, 2016, the Amersfoort Animal Park welcomes a new baby elephant into the family. Although a newborn animal is exciting enough, the story of how she came into this world is even more interesting.
The zookeepers and handlers are asleep when something strange starts happening in the elephant enclosure. Once they play back the security footage, they realize exactly what had happened overnight: the birth of a baby elephant.
Raymond Van Der Meer, a curator at the park, explains: "We were here sleeping at the moment. We saw something happening; it was within a minute or so, the calf was there."
It only takes the pregnant elephant about a minute to give birth to her little one. Luckily, the park's security cameras capture the entire moment for the staff to examine and share with each other.
In the video, a figure appears by mom's foot. Then, the big elephant stands to reveal the baby elephant that she had just given birth to in a hurry. She gets up and nudges the newborn to fully wake up and explore the pen for the first time.
It is a beautiful but very fast-paced moment that the staff is glad to see.
To watch the footage of the surprising birth for yourself, check out the video below and please SHARE if you think these creatures are absolutely adorable!
