Mexico Zoo Live-Streams Birth of ‘Zoom’ the Elephant

Elephants seen in Kenya. Reuters file photo
Elephants seen in Kenya. Reuters file photo
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Mexico Zoo Live-Streams Birth of ‘Zoom’ the Elephant

Elephants seen in Kenya. Reuters file photo
Elephants seen in Kenya. Reuters file photo

A baby African elephant whose birth was live-streamed by a safari park in Mexico has been named Zoom after the video chat app made popular by the coronavirus pandemic.

The calf is the sixth born at the park in Puebla, southeast of the capital, to a herd of elephants rescued eight years ago in Namibia, where they were threatened by poachers.

"The birth of an elephant is difficult to see," said Frank Carlos Camacho, director of Africam Safari, where the baby elephant was seen Friday playing between its mother's legs.

"It's very useful for science, measuring times, fluid volumes, among other factors," he told AFP.

The park said its goal is for the elephants to eventually return to Africa.

"They're not ours. They belong to the world," Camacho said.

"We want them to be in Africa, but the current conditions are difficult.

"People working in tourism were left without jobs due to the pandemic and they're looking for alternatives. The outlook is terrible."



Madeira Wildfire Brought under Control after 11 Days

Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Curral das Freiras, Madeira, Portugal August 17, 2024, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. netmadeira.com/via REUTERS /File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Curral das Freiras, Madeira, Portugal August 17, 2024, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. netmadeira.com/via REUTERS /File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Madeira Wildfire Brought under Control after 11 Days

Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Curral das Freiras, Madeira, Portugal August 17, 2024, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. netmadeira.com/via REUTERS /File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Curral das Freiras, Madeira, Portugal August 17, 2024, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. netmadeira.com/via REUTERS /File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Firefighters have brought under control a large forest fire in the Portuguese island of Madeira that had been burning for 11 days, but authorities said on Sunday they would remain on the ground to stop it flaring up again.

The blaze, which started on Aug. 14, has burnt more than 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of vegetation, mostly in mountainous areas where the slopes are steep and the access is often difficult, Reuters reported.

"The fire has now been brought under control, but cannot yet be considered extinguished so the teams will remain vigilant on the ground to prevent possible reignitions," regional civil protection commander Antonio Nunes told news agency Lusa.

Attempts to fight the flames have been hampered by adverse weather conditions, including high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.

EU authorities provided two Canadair planes to help put out the blaze. The regional government said there had been no injuries, no houses torched and no essential infrastructure destroyed.

The Atlantic island of Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal with around 250,000 residents and is a popular tourist destination.

Rising global temperatures due to climate change have led to more frequent wildfires, from southern and eastern Europe to North America and parts of Asia.