Move Over Knut and Itty Bitty: Baby Elephant Ming Jung is Very Cute

**Scroll down for information about Berlin Animal Park mom, Pori, whose newborn was dramatically rescued.

Welcome to baby Ming Jung, the tiny elephant born April 16, 2007 at the Elephant Park at the zoo in Cologne, Germany. His very cuteness may mean that he could soon edge out baby Polar Bears Knut and Itty-Bitty as a press favorite, even though Cologne and Berlin (where Knut lives) zoos are hundreds of miles apart. That may be a good thing, as Berlin is quite sure that Chicago is out to steal Knut's thunder. That may be a moot point, however, as Knut is growing rapidly and is looking less like a plush toy.

Ming Jung's zoo home is located just across the Rhine from Cologne Cathedral, so visiting Ming Jung would be easy for summer tourists to the city. So far, Ming Jung is so new on the scene, she doesn't have much of an Internet presence. Luckily, Reuters has video of the new elephant baby which you might enjoy.

Ming Jung is the second elephant to be born at Cologne Zoo. The first elephant, Marlar, was born last year. Baby Marlar has some cute videos of her own. Baby Knut is still the biggest star, however, with an extended video from the Vanity Fair Annie Liebovitz photo shoot. The May issue features Knut on the magazine cover.

At Wilmette, we will likely continue the animal blogging until the news improves.

Elephant Update (5/23/07): Berlin's Animal Park (not the Berlin Zoo) has a very clumsy elephant Mom, whose name is Pori. Pori, who crushed her baby two years ago, is back in the news with her bad parenting skills. In a bid to help her newborn stand, it appeared to onlookers that the baby elephant was being crushed by his mother. The newborn baby elephant fell into the water and nearly drowned. You can see the dramatic pictures of his rescue by clicking here.

Pori and Baby Update (5/24/07): Pori the elephant's baby is fully recovered today, and doing fine. Mom and baby are getting along well, as you can see in this happy picture.

Photo credit: lichundschatten, who posts his photos on Flickr.