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Now would be the optimum time to head to Dublin Zoo thanks to the nice weather, but now there's another reason to flock to the animal menagerie.

Dublin Zoo just announced the birth of a male Asian elephant calf.

Proud mum Yasmin gave birth to the healthy calf on Monday afternoon, after carrying him for a whopping 22-months.

The calf is estimated to weight about 20 stone, so that's one big baby.

This new arrival is the sixth elephant calf born at Dublin Zoo in less than three years.

'It is with immense pride that we announce the birth of the latest addition to the Asian elephant herd here at Dublin Zoo,' said Gerry Creighton, Operations Manager at Dublin Zoo.

'The birth of an Asian elephant is an amazing spectacle and this was no exception.'

'The arrival of the calf was greeted with celebratory trumpeting and each member of the herd, from the oldest to youngest, played a role in assisting with the birth.'

'We’ve been on an incredible journey over the past three years, overseeing the birth of six elephant calves, placing Dublin Zoo as one the most successful Asian elephant breeding programmes in the world.'

'The recent births are of huge significance for the future of the endangered Asian elephant.'

We can't wait to grab the family of the partner and head to the zoo to see the little guy for ourselves. 

Dublin Zoo is also inviting the public to suggest a name for the new arrival based on his Asian origin.

Name suggestions can be submitted at www.DublinZoo.ie 

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There's nothing we loved more as children than coming up with cute and imaginative names for other people's pets, so the idea of doing it on a grander scale would have appealed to us immensely back in the day.

And following the birth of a southern white rhinoceros calf on Thursday August 25, Dublin Zoo have announced they need a hand naming the little lad, and that's where the children of Ireland come in.

Calling on our country's younger generation for assistance with this very important task, Dublin Zoo have asked for suggestions for the newest arrival which are based on his African origin.

"We are absolutely thrilled with the new arrival," said Helen Clarke-Bennet, team leader of the African Plains 

"Ashanti is an experienced mother and the birth was very relaxed. The mother and calf are bonding and will remain very close for the first year of his life," she added.

With only 20,000 of these incredible creatures left in the wild, Dublin Zoo are committed to assisting the survival of the near threatened southern white rhinoceros.

And we're committed to making sure it gets the greatest name ever,

If you know of a little person who is a dab hand at this kind of thing, then be sure to let them know that Ashanti and Chaka need some help naming their son pronto, and find out more here.

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The terrifying moment a young boy was spotted inside the rhino enclosure at Dublin Zoo has been captured by social media users.

Several images show the boy in the company of an adult male – who significantly is standing outside the fence. And with the same images being shared on Twitter, many observers understandably expressed their concern.

One user who was at the zoo on Saturday said she saw the boy in the enclosure for a 'good 20 minutes'.

Asking SHEmazing not be named but confirming the incident with us, she had previously told the Irish Daily Mail: "The child didn’t look scared and nobody really passed any heed on what he was doing.

"The child stood there for a good while and the man kept letting go of his hand and telling him to move further back to pose for a picture."

Rathmines-based architect Ciarán Ferrie also spotted the ordeal, sharing two photos via his Twitter account. 

A spokesperson for the zoo said over the weekend that the "matter is being taken care of internally".

Dublin Zoo keeps several white rhinos as part of its African Plains attraction.

When the Plains initially opened in 2001, the animals – including zebra, ostriches, and giraffe – mingled together. However, after a female rhino charged at and killed a zebra in 2009, the rhinos were segregated into their own space.

At the time, a zoo official stated that the incident was an accident, but added that "there are no guarantees when you're dealing with wild animals".

Three years ago also at Dublin, a two-year-old girl was mauled by a tapir during a supervised visit to the animal’s enclosure. She was left with deep cuts on her arm and stomach and underwent surgery in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

A decade ago, a 16-year-old girl scaled a two-metre fence to reach the Siberian tiger enclosure. She subsequently received significant injuries to her limb.

A Cincinnati Zoo in June, a three-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure – resulting in the shooting dead of the ape. The boy was unharmed.

In Morocco last month, an eight-year-old girl died after she was accidently struck by a rock thrown by an elephant at Rabat Zoo.

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Weighing just 4lbs and following a nine-month long pregnancy, a tiny new arrival came into this world a few days ago. 

Surrounded by a loving family, the baby is especially adored by Lena, the wholly-besotted new mother.

Indeed, the little one hasn't left her side yet – preferring to feed and sleep throughout the day while snuggled closely into her chest. 

The only difference between this particular new arrival and countless others, is that this baby is a critically endangered western lowland gorilla, of which there are around 550 living in zoos around the world.

However, in many other ways there are more similarities than there are differences. 

The baby gorilla has yet to be named – who was born in Dublin Zoo – and its gender remains a mystery as keepers have been unable to catch glimpse of him or her for very long. 

The little one is in good hands, however – this is Lena's seventh baby and she is a celebrated excellent and experienced mother. 

Sadly, the baby's father Harry passed away in May at the age of 29 after suffering from a stroke.

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In May of this year, Dublin Zoo lost Harry the silverback gorilla – one of its longest standing and most popular residents – after he suffered a sudden stroke.

For the thousands who mourned the animal, it will come as some consolation to learn that a baby gorilla which Harry fathered was delivered safely on Saturday morning.

Commenting on the zoo's newest arrival, Helen Clarke-Bennett, leader of the animal care team responsible for the gorillas, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the birth of the baby gorilla."

"It has been a sad time for the team after Harry’s death and this has really put a smile on everyone’s face," Helen revealed. "Big brother Kituba is taking a keen interest in the new arrival and the rest of the troop has reacted very well."

"The youngster is doing very well and is very bright and alert," she added. "Within minutes the baby was feeding from mum Lena which is a very good sign.”

The gorilla's mother, Lena, has yet to reveal the gender of the new arrival as she is insisting on keeping the newborn close to her chest for now.

"Lena is a great mother and so far she hasn’t let go of her newborn," Helen explained. "She will continue to cradle the baby in her arms non-stop for the next two to three months."

"When she does eventually let the toddler out of her arms to explore, the youngster won’t go far because Lena will not allow the baby go more than an arms length away."

This is the seventh infant for 32-year-old Lena, and the arrival signals a much-needed boost for the gorilla troop at Dublin Zoo following Harry's sad passing at the start of the summer.

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There was an outpouring of grief late last month when news emerged that Harry, Dublin Zoo's resident male silverback gorilla, had died.

At the time of his passing his exact cause of death was unknown. However, a post-mortem has now been carried out and it appears that the great ape died from a stroke.

"The team at Dublin Zoo would like to thank everyone for their best wishes during the sad time since Harry, our silverback gorilla, died," a statement from the organisation read this evening. 

"Harry showed signs of being unwell on Wednesday 25th May. Despite the best of care from our animal care and veterinary teams, Harry passed away on Sunday morning 29th May.

"The post mortem has shown that Harry suffered a stroke."

Harry was 29 years old at the time of his death and during his time in Ireland he fathered six offspring; two females and four males.

The statement added that the rest of the troop "are doing well and have been calm since his passing".

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The country was in shock yesterday when Dublin Zoo took to Facebook with some tragic news.

Their beloved silverback male gorilla, Harry, had died aged just 29.

Zoo workers and visitors have been revealing their memories of the ape in the aftermath – and now one Dublin photographer has also shared one remarkably touching moment.

Anthony Lynch posted on his Facebook page a snap which seems to show a large gorilla head 'kissing' the famed Phoenix Park obelisk.

In a message with has now garnered some 25,000 reactions, the photographer wrote: "I was sitting in my car waiting for the sun to set behind the Phoenix monument and looking through fb when I seen that Harry the gorilla had died after years in Dublin Zoo which I happened to be outside."

"Maybe I'm staring at the sun too long but does anyone else see a gorilla kissing goodbye to the phoenix park monument?"

Many fans were in agreement – with the incredible snap currently doing the rounds on social media.

The exact cause of Harry's death is still unknown, but Dublin Zoo says it is carrying out a postmortem shortly.

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When you're wandering around Dublin Zoo, it's safe to say you expect a nice and calm day walking around the grounds.

Well, one little girl was out of luck during the week when she went to see the tigers. The big bad cats broke out in a row and terrified the little girl who ended up running away.

According to the Daily Mail, the toddler's parents captured the footage and uploaded it to YouTube over the weekend, where it has been shared thousands of times.

We have to say, if tigers broke out into a fight while we were there, we'd probably run away too. 

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We can never get enough of cute baby animals, so luckily for us Dublin Zoo have just welcomed a new and oh-so lovely arrival.

The zoo is now home to a new baby Rothschild giraffe, who was born on October 28.

Just look at him there, all gangly-legged and tiny:

Though adult giraffes can grow to a staggering 6m, this little fella currently measures up at just 1.5m… around the same height as us, really.

At one week old, the little one weights  45kg, but by adulthood that could increase to as much as 2000kg. He better start eating his veggies.

The new baby joins a herd of nine giraffes at the zoo, including another youngster who was born back in May.

"The calf was born in the giraffe house with the other female members of the herd present," team leader Helen Clarke-Bennett explained.

"The team watched the birth unfold on our closed circuit cameras.

The birth took over an hour and we noticed that the herd was very attentive each step of the way."

Giraffes are the tallest of all living mammals, with their long necks giving them the choiciest picks of leaves from the top of tall trees.

Like human fingerprints, each giraffe's coat has its own unique markings.

 

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Cuteness overload alert!

Dublin Zoo has welcomed 11 Tamworth piglets to its ever-growing family. 

The charming piglets were born on August 8 and we have been told that they are all in great health and currently feeding from their mam. 

They can now officially be seen at the Family Farm daily, along with all the other ADORBS baby animals that have arrived in the past year.

Just this summer, for example, the zoo welcomed a new lion cub (nnawwwwaaa!), the third Asian cub to be born in Dublin since last year. 

Dublin Zoo also celebrated the first birthday of Kavi, an elephant calf, who was born on July 17 last year. 

We pretty much can't take the cuteness of all these delightful animals!

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This is SO cute! Dublin Zoo welcomed the arrival of a new lion cub on June 25 and now they need help in naming her. 

She was born to parents Sita and Kumar and she weighs just over 5kgs. 

The new arrival is the third Asian lion cub to be born in Dublin Zoo since 2014 and now she is part of the pride of five. 

 

The zoo are hoping to get some help from the public for naming the little girl as they hope to keep her name in line with her Asian heritage like her sister Kyna and half-brother Kuno. 

According to the zoo, the birth of an Asian lion is extremely significant for the international breeding programme as there are less than 350 of them in the world, with the majority of the population residing in the Gir Forest in India. 

Dublin Zoo team leader Ciaran McMahon said: "We are thrilled with our new arrival. These lions are endangered in the wild and it is important for conservation that zoos maintain a viable population of Asian lions. The female cub is settling in very well."

 

From tomorrow morning at 9am, Dublin Zoo are inviting people to suggest a name for the cub based on her Asian heritage. You can submit your suggestion on their website

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There was a little bit of California in Ireland today – and not just because of the sunshine. 

Yes, Dublin Zoo's adorable Californian sea lions moved into their new home: a stunning deep saltwater habitat just perfect for the marine mammals. 

And visitors to the attraction will be given a great shot of all the action too: an underground viewing chamber allows you to see the sea lions swimming underwater.

The colony at the Zoo currently consists of three females, Cassie, aged seven, Florence, six, and nine-year-old Seanna, as well as one male, Nico, who is three. It is envisaged that the colony will grow to approximately eight animals over the next few years.

The animal is found on the west coast of North America – from the US down to Mexico. Although females weigh-in at 100kg, males can grow to a hefty 350kg.

President Michael D Higgins, a fellow Phoenix Park resident, was on-hand to officially launch the exhibit this morning. He was accompanied by his wife, Sabina. 

Dublin Zoo director Leo Oosterweghel also said: “Every detail of this wonderful saltwater habitat has been considered carefully with the needs of the sea lions in mind and always inspired by their natural habitat. 

"This new home should encourage them to continue breeding and to encourage their natural behaviours giving visitors an amazing insight into sea lion behaviour."

For the last four years Dublin Zoo, which runs on a not-for-profit basis, has attracted more than a million annually a year making it one of Ireland’s most popular visitor attractions. 

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