A baby elephant is born in the forests of Chiang Mai

We are delighted to share some wonderful news from Chiang Mai: the long-held rumours of Kah Moon's pregnancy have proved true, and she has given birth to a healthy female calf. It is exactly the kind of moment that makes the patient, observational work of the Canopy Conservation so rewarding.

We first began to suspect Kah Moon was expecting around March. Pregnancy is notoriously hard to detect in elephants simply by looking, and it only becomes clear late in their remarkably long gestation period of eighteen to twenty-two months. We stayed hopeful through the waiting, and one night in late May those hopes finally became reality. When the news reached our team there was an enormous buzz of excitement, and a few days later, when the volunteers heard, that excitement became palpable.

Everyone was eager to meet the newborn, but the priority from the outset was giving mother and daughter the space to bond. Only small groups were allowed to visit at first, and only briefly. As the weeks have passed, Kah Moon and her calf have moved deeper into the forest and have been rejoined by Kah Moon's mother, Khum Suk, and her close companion, Sah Jah. The wider family has gathered around the new arrival exactly as it would in the wild.

We have now resumed our study of Kah Moon's behaviour, and it is fascinating to record how differently she conducts herself with a calf to care for. The baby is over a month old and has spent her first weeks in the forest with her mother, just as nature intended. She found her feet quickly and is already showing the same curious streak as her older sister, Lulu. Kah Moon, an experienced mother, keeps a watchful eye and never lets her newborn wander too far, while the mahouts devoted day and night to mother and daughter through the critical first fortnight.

The calf is growing rapidly, and it has been a privilege for our volunteers to witness these earliest days in the life of an Asian elephant. Her trunk is not yet fully developed and she has not yet learned to use it; in time her mother will teach her to master that extraordinary tool. For now she still stumbles a little as she adjusts to the steep, uneven terrain of the Thai mountains, but she is learning fast. She has grown bolder by the day and now likes to trot towards our volunteers to play, at which point we always retreat to a safe distance, staying true to our policy of hands-off, purely observational work.

With this birth, Khum Suk has gained another grandchild, Lulu has become a big sister, and Sah Jah has taken on the role of doting aunt, caring for the calf whenever Kah Moon needs to rest. It is a reminder that elephants are deeply social animals whose bonds run through generations, and that the best thing we can do is give those bonds room to flourish.

We remain cautious, of course. At such a young age much can still go wrong, so we continue to keep our distance and allow Kah Moon the time and space to raise her daughter on her own terms. The calf does not yet have a name, but we have all grown very attached to her already. We look forward to watching her grow, and to sharing her journey through the forests of Chiang Mai.