This is a press release from the Oregon Zoo:

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon Zoo elephant keepers Tuesday morning finally witnessed something they've been waiting 22 months to see: a healthy baby elephant trotting around the gallery, following his mother.

Keepers, increasingly confident that first-time mom Rose-Tu is bonding with the new calf following her initial aggressive behavior Saturday, removed the last of the elephant's leg restraints at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Fifteen minutes later they unharnessed Rose-Tu's calf, who has remained close to mom since then, nursing and trotting to keep up with her big steps, as she roams about the front viewing room of the elephant barn.

Keepers had removed two of Rose-Tu's restraints yesterday around 6 p.m., and one more at around 1:30 a.m., as she seemed to grow calmer and more at ease with the calf.  Veterinary staff will continue to supervise Rose-Tu and her calf during their bonding process.

"We're taking it slow to ensure that mom and calf are completely bonded and comfortable," said Mike Keele, the zoo's deputy director and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' species survival plan coordinator for Asian elephants. "Once we're confident in the strength of the mother-calf bond, we'll work on introductions with the other females in the herd, Shine and Chendra."

Keele said the calf was "getting wobbly on his feet" yesterday, because he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep, but today he seems much more rested. The calf lay down and slept once at 4:45 a.m. for an hour. And yesterday, the calf slept underneath his mom for an hour and a half.

Keepers say the calf's nursing continues to go well.

"The calf has lost weight, which is what we expected," Keele said. As of 6:45 a.m., he weighed 281.6 pounds - less than when he was born - but he is expected to be back to his birth weight by today or tomorrow. "This morning he's doing more running than nursing, as he trots behind Rose-Tu," added Keele.

The baby was born at the Oregon Zoo at 3:56 p.m. on Aug. 23. Zoo officials are still uncertain about when the public will be able see the calf.

"From the behavioral signs we've seen thus far, we're very hopeful that the reintroduction will be successful," Keele said.