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Baby Elephants Growing Fast At Pittsburgh Zoo

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Apr 2, 2009 5:45 pm US/Eastern

Baby Elephants Growing Fast At Pittsburgh Zoo

Slideshow: Zoo's Elephant Babies At Play!

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― You could call them Pittsburgh's biggest babies.

Now, eight months later, the pair of baby elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium are getting bigger.

Angelina and Zuri have been a big draw at the zoo and their keeper says the girls are adapting to their surroundings.

"Initially, for the first month, she [Zuri] was very shy, she stayed around her mom," said Willie Theison, the zoo's elephant keeper. "Angelina brought her out of her shell."

And while one baby elephant is a big deal for any zoo -- it's double the trouble at One Wild Place.

"Last time with Victoria and Callee, we had a year lapse," said Theison, of the last time the zoo had baby elephants. "This time, we only had a two weeks lapse between babies."

Theison also says now Angelina and Zuri can go nonstop, even under the gaze of their mothers.

"Sometimes they get playing so much, it kind of disrupts the adults," he says.

And when it's mealtime, their diet of hay and produce sets off some big time sibling rivalry.

"They're getting their share, and in about a year, we'll probably divide them up so there's not much competition," he added.

Meantime, while some might think two babies might mean lots of extra headaches, Theison says it's actually a bit of a relief for him.

"For me, it's a little easier because each baby gets to play with each other," he says. "The first time, I was the playmate so I took a beating with both Victoria and Callee, so they've [Angelina & Zuri] taken the pressure off of me."

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