The thunder of tiny feet will be heard after Colchester Zoo's Tanya the African elephant gives birth.

Twenty-year-old Tanya was artificially inseminated on March 1. The father is the zoo's bull elephant Tembo.

Curator Anthony Tropeano said today Tanya was the first elephant in the UK to be successfully inseminated and the first in the world to conceive after only one insemination.

At the moment, the foetus is about the size of an apple, but it is hoped in November further ultrasound examinations will be performed.

Mr Tropeano said: "We'd like to stress that it is still early days. An elephant is pregnant for nearly two years and there is still a very long way to go before we actually have a calf.

"The zoo and the elephant keepers will be providing Tanya with the best possible care and we all have our fingers crossed for a problem-free pregnancy."

Only five elephants in the world have been successfully inseminated in the past.

This includes Sabi, the female elephant from Vienna Zoo who recently gave birth after also being inseminated with sperm from Tembo.

Mr Tropeano said: "We are very fortunate it has taken only one insemination attempt. Often it takes several."

Tanya has been at the zoo since 1984 and this will be her first calf.

Mum and dad - Tanya and Tembo

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