Louisville is welcoming their newest — and biggest — baby.
Mikki, a 33-year-old female African elephant, gave birth to a male calf at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky just before midnight on Friday.
"Mikki did all the work," senior veterinarian Dr. Zoli Gyimesi said in a news release. "Mikki gave birth to a very strong and vigorous bull calf."
Dr. Dennis Schmitt, an expert in elephant reproductive physiology, attended to the birth along with elephant keeper staff, according to the release.
Schmitt said "the delivery was textbook." The calf measures 98 centimeters tall, 77 centimeters long from head to tail and 198 cm from the tip of his trunk to the tip off his tail.
Mikki has been pregnant since October 2017, giving birth after a 22-month gestation period.
The zoo first announced her pregnancy, which was achieved through artificial insemination, in March 2018.
On July 9 they tweeted that she had entered her birthing window and was carrying a baby around 200 pounds. At that time, staff began taking blood samples daily to track Mikki's progression to labor.
The baby becomes the Louisville Zoo's third elephant, joining mom Mikki and Asian elephant, Punch, 47.
“It’s an exciting day at the Louisville Zoo,” Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak said in the release. “We are so thrilled for Mikki and this calf. We are grateful to our community for embracing Mikki’s pregnancy and being a part of her journey. Raising a calf is one of the most enriching things an elephant can experience."
The zoo said this is a critical time for bonding between Mikki, the calf and Punch. None of the elephants will be on exhibit until further notice.
In the meantime, what will the baby be named??
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