Elephant hits 'terrible twos' at West Midlands Safari Park
Look who has reached the 'terrible twos' – it is baby African elephant Sutton, who enjoyed a birthday cake made up of mounds of his favourite food.
The youngster, who is named after inspirational Staffordshire teenager Stephen Sutton, was treated by keepers at West Midland Safari Park to mark his milestone.
Weighing more than 120st, the two-year-old stands at almost 4ft tall to the shoulder and his tusks have now started to grow.
His keepers decided that there was only one birthday present Sutton would really appreciate this year — a cake made from elephant feed, bread and fruit.
They drafted in KD9 beaver scout section, from Kidderminster, to help, and within half an hour the cake was ready to be devoured by Sutton and his mother, Five.
And it didn't last long, with the animals using their powerful trunks to pick it apart and toss the tasty morsels into their mouths.
Head keeper of elephants, Andy Plumb said, "It's been a real pleasure watching Sutton grow and progress over the last two years.
"Our elephants' favourite thing is food, so there is no better birthday present than a cake made up of some of their most loved treats. It also contained some specially-formulated elephant feed, which includes vital vitamins and minerals, so not only is it extremely tasty and fun to dismantle, it's nutritional too. Let's hope that the terrible twos stage doesn't exist with cheeky elephant calves."
Beaver scout leader Melanie Williams said: "KD9 Beaver Scouts were delighted to celebrate baby Sutton's second birthday with him and present him with an enormous cake that they had decorated.The beavers were tempted to have a piece, until they were told of its special ingredients."
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