After 22 months of anticipation, twenty-eight year-old Asian elephant Khaing Phyo Phyo has finally given birth to her fourth child at Antwerp Zoo. Phyo Phyo was born wild in Myanmar, then was captured to live in the Netherlands and the UK before moving to Antwerp. Over the past eleven years she has three previous children – Timber, Sitang, and May Tagu. The father, Alexander, has been responsible for nine other healthy offspring, however this baby is the first product of Phyo Phyo and Alexander together.

An elephant birth is a first for Belgium. The anticipation was so great that many Belgians signed up for SMS alerts of the birth. The progress of the gestation, from ultrasounds to a live video of the birth, was projected onto giant screens. She was born at 8:45 AM on Sunday May 17, weighing 80 kilograms, and was on her feet within 20 minutes. Her four-year-old sister May Tagu was originally jealous, but with the help of aunt Phyo Yu Yu Yin, she now seems to have welcomed the little one into the family.

A nation-wide competition was held to name the baby, and the result has just been revealed: Kai-Mook (“pearl”). To celebrate this event, the post office will send 4.8 million postcards to the households of Belgium – a world record number of birth announcements. All of Belgium is united in celebration of this delightful event.

Photos from bebe-elephant.be

Back when we were having the Montreal v Brussels debate, I contacted Woman Wandering, who is originally from New Zealand and moved to Belgium. She ran down the pros and cons of the country, and reminded me that if one loves to travel, then Brussels is best. In April when we visited Antwerp I was finally able to meet her and thank her in person. She treated us to a delicious lunch at home with her family, and then took us on a delightful walking tour of her town. My favourite spot was the t Elfde Gebod (The 11th Commandment) bar, filled with various saints that the owner bought when the churches were ridding themselves of such things.

It is fascinating to learn about saints and their symbols. Those of them who were tortured often display on a plate the body part that was severed – the head of St Denis, the breasts of St Agatha, the eyes of St Lucy, the flayed skin of St Bartholomew. St Nicolas is accompanied by the three children he restored after they were pickled in brine by an wicked innkeeper. St Jerome carries a stone in his hand with which he strikes himself in penance for his sins. St Roch has a dog who fed him by stealing food from its master’s table while he suffered from the plague. These stories are never pleasant.

In contrast to the suffering of martyrs, we were also lucky enough to watch the baby elephant frolic in the water at the zoo. It tried everything to try and convince its mum to join it in the water – using its feel to plash her with water, spraying her with its trunk, and even forcefully head-butting her towards the shore. Finally, she reluctantly joined in and the little one was overcome with joy. I’m not even sure the baby creature remembered it was an elephant, the way it attempted to clamber on top of her in the pool and to do handstands while completely submerged. I think that I would like a baby elephant of my own. I am following the progress of the latest pregnancy at www.baby-olifant.be. Maybe I could take it for weekends once it is born?