THE first elephant to be born at Colchester Zoo is being given round-the-clock attention by keepers and his mother Tanya.The baby bull elephant – born at 1.

THE first elephant to be born at Colchester Zoo is being given round-the-clock attention by keepers and his mother Tanya.

The baby bull elephant – born at 1.05am yesterday – has not been rejected by Tanya and has fed with assistance from her human helpers.

In the meantime, the Elephant House at the Stanway zoo remains closed while the baby's progress is monitored.

Zoo curator Anthony Tropeano said: "Once the bulge got bigger and the calf went into the birth canal, the process went very, very quickly – it only took about 30 to 40 seconds.

"There wasn't a whole lot of pushing. We removed the calf because it was Tanya's first birth and we did not know how she would react.

"We rubbed him down and got him on his feet and then introduced him to his mother. They seem to be getting on reasonably well."