A baby elephant stands close to its mother under her body in a natural outdoor setting with greenery in the background. 3:43
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Baby elephant Haven copies mom, trunk and all

Somboon scratches against a tree, and her calf, Haven, tries it too. She blows dust through her trunk. He tries that as well. more

Then she picks up food, and he tries again. The look of focus on his small face is the best part. Haven is never far from his mother, and he works hard to copy everything she does. He's also "an absolute heartbreaker." Visitors who meet him tend to leave with a little bit of their heart stolen.

An elephant stands facing forward on sandy ground with its trunk lowered and its ears slightly flared. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Every lesson starts with whatever Somboon decides to do next.

His mother had a much harder start. Somboon was rescued from a trekking camp, where she was still carrying tourists for miles each day while halfway through her pregnancy. Haven's own personality showed from the day he was born. He would fall asleep on his feet "without a care in the world."

Now Somboon mostly munches away happily while Haven gets into all sorts of mischief. He explores everything he can reach. The trouble is his trunk. Elephants can't really use their trunks until they are about a year old, so he gets frustrated, and that long trunk can just get in the way.

A young elephant stands on sandy ground with its trunk curled up, looking toward the camera. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Haven won't have real use of his trunk until he's about a year old.

He is almost three months old and already weighs 150 kilograms, enough to give anyone a fright. He has also grown almost too tall to fit underneath his mother. So he's learning how to duck.

Fans love the way he slips under her. One guessed he will be sad the day he finally doesn't fit. Another said it brought back hiding behind Mom's legs at the grocery store, peeking out while she talked to people they did not know.

A baby elephant stands close to its mother under her body in a natural outdoor setting with greenery in the background. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Somboon scratches against a tree, and her calf, Haven, tries it too.

Joining the herd is the next big step. The elephant experts are introducing him very slowly, so that he and all the other elephants stay safe. He has already grown close to Sudarat, the herd's matriarch and nanny.

The hope is that Haven will have many happy years at the sanctuary, growing up safe. For now, there's still room under Somboon, as long as he remembers to duck.

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