Queen Elizabeth Meets Baby Elephant Named After Her

Queen Elizabeth feeds Donna the elephant a banana during a visit to Whipsnade Zoo

London:  Here's what happened when Queen Elizabeth II met Elizabeth the elephant. The British monarch was visiting an elephant reserve in England when she came face to face with the herd's youngest member. The ten-month-old calf was named after her because she was born one day before Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday. The calf and her mother Karishma are among the nine Asian elephants that will live at the custom-designed Centre for Elephant Care at Whipsnade Zoo, run by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The queen is a patron of ZSL, which carries out animal conservation work around the world. 
 

The Centre is home to a herd of nine Asian elephants and is set in 30 acres of land, including baby Elizabeth - named after Her Majesty. pic.twitter.com/Sja1LWpA6t

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 11, 2017

 

Baby Elizabeth was born on 10 June 2016 to proud mum Karishma and weighed in at 130kg which is over 20st. #Queenat90pic.twitter.com/NAuCDLCOz4

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 11, 2017

Queen Elizabeth was "absolutely delighted" to discover that Elizabeth the elephant was named in her honour, said ZSL's Director Professor David Field.

Zookeepers at Whipsnade described the baby elephant, who weighs 460 kilograms, as very playful. "She even has a football which she takes everywhere and gets stroppy if it is taken away from her," said one zookeeper.

The queen, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, even fed bananas to one of the elephants - a rather greedy Donna.
 

.@ZSLWhipsnadeZoo Read all about The Queen feeding an elephant @ZSLWhipsnadeZoo here → https://t.co/M6pU0mPQz0pic.twitter.com/edyEgPoOnH

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 11, 2017

 

Her Majesty and The Duke get the chance to hand feed one of the elephants a delicious banana. pic.twitter.com/7dxqpZt8VV

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 11, 2017

 

Following a private tour of the Centre for Elephant Care, HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh fed our Donna: https://t.co/qwyNxF7tOUpic.twitter.com/mMIffQ591Q

— ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (@ZSLWhipsnadeZoo) April 11, 2017

Assistant curator of elephants at Whipsnade Lee Sambrook said the queen was especially interested to hear about the round-the-clock care the elephants receive.

The new Centre for Elephant Care includes more than 700 square metres of indoor space. It is fitted out with a host of elephant-friendly features, including one metre-deep soft sand flooring to provide maximum comfort and lights that can be dimmed to mimic night-time.

Asian elephants are considered endangered due to habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans.

(With inputs from IANS)