All's quiet on the elephant front and that's just the way

officials want to keep it, giving Rose-Tu and the

the time and space they need to bond.

Zoo administrators, inundated with congratulatory notes from around the world, haven't decided when the public will be allowed to see the calf. Also, they haven't disclosed details of a name-the-calf contest, but those likely will come soon.

During a Saturday morning veterinary check the 300-pound newborn female looked healthy and her lungs and heart sounded good, said Chris Pfefferkorn, zoo deputy director.

The calf is nursing so well the staff is confident she got the antibody-rich colostrum, or first milk, critical to building a healthy immune system. Her frequent nursing bouts, Pfefferkorn said, last 30 to 60 seconds.

Asian elephant calves typically lose a little weight during their first week, then gain about two pounds a day. They can nurse up to five years but start eating solid food at 10 or 12 months.

Keepers minding the pachyderm nursery around-the-clock track and record nearly everything the calf does, from the length of her feeding sessions, to how often and long she sleeps, as well as other bodily functions.

When the little one snoozes, Rose-Tu stands over her protectively, sleeping on her own feet.

Surely, she needs it.

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The 18-year-old elephant showed the first sign of labor last Sunday, more than 21 months into her pregnancy. A blood test indicated her progesterone had dropped drastically. As the week progressed, other early labor signs appeared. Rose kicked at her abdomen and appeared uncomfortable during contractions.

Active labor, though, seemed to pass in a snap, according to some of the 16 zoo staffers at the birth.

A bulge showed beneath Rose's tail, the sign that the calf was in the birth canal. About two hours later, she crouched, bore down and delivered her big bundle, which made a mighty splash as the amniotic sac burst when it hit the barn floor.

Keepers immediately saw the calf move and breathe.

While she was still wobbly Saturday afternoon, she spent lots of time exploring her surroundings and trying to figure out what to do with that crazy long thing attached to her face. "It's gonna take her awhile," Pfefferkorn said, "to learn how to use her trunk.

"She's a pretty active little girl. She's getting her sea legs underneath her."

During the birth, a gate was cracked open, so others in the herd, including Rose's firstborn, Samudra, could see what was going on, and so Rose could see them. But as soon as she delivered, that gate closed and the animals remain segregated.

Keepers don't want to run the risk that Shine, Chendra or Samudra might slip a trunk through bars and unintentionally trip the unsteady newborn.

It could be a few weeks, Pfefferkorn said, before they share the same space.

This year, keepers have trained the elephants to spend time apart to ensure the calf's safety until she's steady on her feet and strong enough to be in the herd.

Once together, the group dynamic will evolve.

Though Samudra, 4, still tries to nurse, his mother has weaned him. She'll no longer tolerate his attempts. As Mike Keele, director of elephant habitats said Friday, "the golden boy's about ready to learn some manners."

Pfefferkorn expects Samudra, the calf and perhaps Chendra will be playmates. Shine will take on the auntie role, as she did when Samudra was born.

It likely will be a year or more before the calf meets her father, Tusko. "She's got to have some size on her and be really confident," before that happens, Pfefferkorn said.

Having births within the herd, he said, teaches all the animals something, from how to behave around calves to how to care for them. "It makes them better when it's their turn to breed," he said.

That may be particularly important for Chendra, 19, and the elephant zoo officials would like to see breed next.

That possibility, though, is on the back burner as keepers care for mother and calf, and recover from a high-anxiety week.

"The staff is really happy with how everything has gone so far," Pfefferkorn said. "It's been better than any of us expected. You can see the look of relief on their faces."

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