Bewdley, UK. 16th June, 2014. "Sutton", the new baby elephant at West Midlands Safari Park, and her mother get a soaking. Sutton was named after Stephen Sutton, the teenage cancer sufferer who died earlier this year. Stephen visited the elephant's mother "Five" earlier this year. The meeting was one of the events on his bucket list. The zoo had given the public the vote to decide the name of the five week old baby elephant - both "Stephen" and "Sutton" were equally popular. The Zoo decided on Sutton. Credit: jules annan/Alamy Live News
Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:WEST MIDLANDS SAFARI PARK NEW BABY ELEPHANT NAMED AFTER STEPHAN SUTTON Since the arrival of the first baby elephant to be born at West Midland Safari Park in its 41-year history, staff have been pondering over a suitable name for their precious new youngster. Unable to reach a conclusion, they decided it was time to let their followers on social media choose what to call the bouncing baby boy and launched their competition. The competition closed on 1st June 2014 and it soon became evident that there were two names that were going to be the clear winners. An overwhelming number of around 4, 000 suggestions (not only via social media, but also by phone and email, ) were the names Stephen and Sutton, generating around 2, 000 each. Prompted no doubt by the enduring image of Stephen being hugged by 'Five', the calf's mother back in January. The total number of names reached just under 5, 000 in a month. Therefore, staff at the Park have decided to call their new baby elephant, Sutton. Bob Lawrence, Director of Wildlife, said, "This is a fitting tribute to an inspirational young man who captured the hearts and minds of so many for his remarkable achievements. Stephen and his mother, Jane, met Five in January 2014 before the calf was born. It was number 30 on Stephen's bucket list to "Hug an animal that is bigger than me". In the event, I think Stephen's legacy has turned into something even bigger". Bob, continued, "There is also another remarkable side to this story. The calf's father - a wild bull elephant from South Africa - is called 'Steve'. The Parks' Consultant Vet for this project - IZW Berlin - chose 'Steve' because he was a magnificent specimen of an African elephant". Baby elephant Sutton is now 5 weeks old and weighs around 130 kg. He is currently piling on the pounds - at about 8/9 kg every week! Sutton may be seen charging around Elephant Valley, which forms part of the 4-mile safari drive-through, most days under
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