Father's Day gift: Baby elephant "Tilly" born at Houston Zoo

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Monday, June 18, 2018
New elephant at Houston Zoo
New elephant born at the Houston Zoo.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston Zoo is welcoming a new elephant calf and quite the Father's Day gift.

The zoo welcomed baby elephant "Tilly" around 2:38 Sunday morning.

Zoo officials said Tilly's mother, a 35-year-old Asian elephant, gave birth to the 345-pound female elephant without complication.

"Our animal team is thrilled that the birth has gone smoothly," said Lisa Marie Avendano, vice president of animal operations at the Houston Zoo. "We look forward to continuing to watch Tilly and Tess bond, and introducing her to Houston."

This is the third calf for Tess, who is also mother to Tucker and Tupelo, and raises the number of elephants in the Houston Zoo herd to ten, four males and six females.