Watch: Stumbling Baby Elephant Walks Alongside Mother Elephant, Hours After Birth

NDTV

2 days ago

A stunning video of a mother elephant crossing a road with her newborn calf has gone viral, catching the internet's attention. The nearly 20-second clip, shared by Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan, showcases the mama elephant carefully guiding the baby elephant, who is still learning to walk, having been born just a few hours earlier.
On average, the newborn elephant calves stand about one metre in height and weigh roughly 120 kilograms. The calf is helped to its feet by the mother and other maternal figures in the herd. Calves are able to stand on their own within minutes of birth. After a couple of hours and a few minor but adorable setbacks, the calf is able to walk.
"An unsteady walk, as the calf just came into world. Elephant calves start walking within one to two hours of birth. In wild, they have to be mobile, necessary for survival," Mr Kaswan captioned the video.
Watch the viral video here:
An unsteady walk, as the calf just came into world. Elephant calves start walking within 1-2 hour of birth. In wild they have to be mobile, necessary for survival pic.twitter.com/dEQO0dPtP1
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) August 7, 2025
'Miracle of nature'
The video triggered a flood of online reactions, with users expressing a range of emotions from awe and admiration for the baby's elephant's determination to cross the road and stay alongside the mother.
"What a heartwarming moment! The little one's first steps show nature's perfect timing," said one user while another added: "Miracle of nature!"
A third commented: "Favourite animal of all time. Absolute sweethearts and best seen in the wild. No to zoos always. Hope we can shut all Indian zoos and give these guys a chance at a proper life in the wild amongst mates."
A fourth said: "Always stay with Mummy. She'll protect you, little baby elephant."
Last month, another video showed a baby elephant attempting to hoist itself onto a chair and sit like a human. As the video went viral, the baby jumbo's cuteness in trying and failing to climb up the chair mesmerised the internet.
Similarly, another viral post on Instagram showed a tusker enjoying a bath with his caretaker when he spotted an unexpected little visitor - a tiny frog. Despite being relatively large in size, the baby elephant displayed tremendous composure and gently attempted to avoid the croaking frog.