PREVIEW

Glittery Black-Poo Illuminations Reveal Elephants’ Pregnancies. Blackpool Zoo’s elephants’ pregnancies have been revealed using an unusual method - edible glitter that comes through into their poo. In order to successfully identify individual dung samples for hormone analysis, staff came up with the idea of giving each elephant a different coloured glittery treats. Once consumed it appears in their faeces, allowing keepers to track which dung belongs to whom. And the samples revealed that both mum and daughter, Noorjahan and Esha, are pregnant and due to give birth to the calves in late 2024. The calves will be the first to be born at Blackpool Zoo in its 52-year history. Asian elephants typically carry their young for 18 to 22 months. Newborn Asian elephant calves weigh approximately 100kg and can stand and walk within their first hour. Asian elephants have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1986 and the population is estimated to have declined by at least 50 per cent over the last three generations.