The incredible true story of Taronga Zoo’s miracle elephant calf, Pathi Harn, will be told in a special presentation of The Zoo, Miracle at The Zoo, making its world premiere on Monday, April 12 at 7.30pm.
The special will be hosted by 2010 most popular presenter Logie Award nominee Melissa Doyle and lead into a new series of The Zoo, starting April 19.
Channel Seven’s cameras have been there for every stage of Pathi Harn’s young life, from the news he had died in his mother Porntip’s womb to the shock birth and his days now spent wallowing in the mud and playing with his cousin, Luk Chai.
With exclusive access to the elephant enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, Miracle at The Zoo offers viewers the ultimate images to show just why Pathi Harn has captured the hearts of so many.
“The pictures are extraordinary. The footage of Pathi Harn’s birth and the events which followed is unforgettable,” says Doyle.
The story of Pathi Harn, the second elephant born as part of Taronga’s successful breeding program, has confounded vets and elephant experts at every turn.
His life was cut short before it even began when he was declared dead in the womb by experts who couldn’t find any of the usual signs of a healthy foetus.
The Zoo’s cameras were there while the elephant keepers and vets monitored Porntip’s labour and their hopes of a successful birth dwindled by the hour.
The cameras also captured the unexpected early morning birth and the remarkable events which followed, including the work of the zoo staff which saved him from what could have been a certain death.
As Pathi Harn recuperates and finds his feet within the herd, we find out precisely why he was nicknamed “Mr Shuffles” and meet an increasingly cheeky little elephant.
After watching this special, there will be no confusion as to why this delightful young elephant was named Pathi Harn, the Thai word for “miracle”.
The Zoo – Miracle at The Zoo, Monday, April 12, 7.30pm on Channel Seven