Elephant Calf Must Rely on Humans

Officials at the San Diego Wild Animal Park are continuing efforts to reunite an Asian elephant calf born Wednesday with his mother, but the prospects appear slim.

“Right now we have pretty much resigned ourselves to hand-rearing,” said Tom Hanscom, a spokesman for the park.

The longer the elephants remain separated, the slimmer the chances are that baby Omar will nurse from his mother, Connie, Hanscom said.

Park officials had to separate the son from his mother at birth because she tried to kill him.

Although Connie’s milk is important to develop her son’s immune system, workers are optimistic that they can keep Omar alive.

They are feeding Omar small amounts of milk taken from his mother, as well as domestic cow milk. Omar has also received a transfusion of plasma from his mother to help develop his immune system, Hanscom said.