96-kg baby Asian elephant born in SW China

KUNMING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- After a 19-month-pregnancy, a 16-year-old Asian elephant delivered a healthy calf in a breeding and rescue center in southwest China's Yunnan Province Friday.

According to center staff, the mother elephant, named Yinen, has been living in the center for about nine years. Last April, she naturally mated with a male elephant in the center, with the help of "manual intervention."

Yinen had a half-hour labor before giving birth to a female calf, weighing 96 kg and 91 cm tall, shortly after 6:20 a.m., according to Bao Mingwei from the center.

Bao said the baby elephant was able to stand on its own within minutes of the delivery, and was named Dongzhi, the Chinese term for "winter solstice," the day she was born.

Asian elephants are under first-class national protection. China has about 300 Asian elephants, mostly in Yunnan.

Since its establishment in 2008, the center has rescued 12 wild Asian elephants, nine of which are still receiving medical care in the center.

The center has delivered five calves so far. Enditem