If you have kids or were ever one yourself, you no doubt have seen the Disney classic Dumbo. For those who have managed to erase the story from their memory banks, basically Dumbo and his mother work for a circus, are separated, and then reunited after he learns that by flapping his big floppy ears he’s able to fly. Well in a scene straight out of the Disney Vault comes the story of an elephant named Rose-Tu and her newborn calf.
Born just last week at a whopping 286 pounds, the un-named calf and its new mommy seemed to have had a falling out of sorts moments after it was born. According those in charge of the elephants at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, OR., moments after the calf was born Rose-Tu began kicking it out of what they believe was confusion rather than anger and the newborn was removed in order to protect it’s safety. On Sunday the 24th , Zoo Deputy Director Mike Keele gave a status report on the calf’s progress, “The male seems to be in good enough shape that we want to reintroduce them as quickly as possible… so he's gaining strength and her calming down... so once that happens, we'll put them back together and see how things go.”
Thankfully after days of being apart all it took was one glimpse mother and son for the officials at the zoo to realize the moment they had hoped for had arrived. “When we brought the calf in the very first time, she tried her best to get to it by breaking chains, and breaking chains means she could potentially be free and posed a threat to her calf and the staff”, says Keele adding that the calf immediately began crying for it’s momma and became “inconsolable”. Now after a couple of days together, both elephants are doing fine and seem to have developed that bond that will connect them for life. “At one point, the calf was in the wrong place and Rose-Tu gently nudged him with her trunk, repositioning her legs so he could get better access for nursing. She seems especially calm around him, and when he nurses it looks like Rose is almost sleeping, she's so relaxed; it's a very good sign.” All that’s left now is talking mouse to teach the calf the art of aerodynamics.