Melbourne Zoo's Mali jealous of new baby elephant

Sibling rivalry in the elephant enclosure will provide Melbourne Zoo visitors with extra entertainment during school holidays.

Baby Elephants at the Melb Zoo: Mali (left) and her new half-brother, who as yet has no name. Picture: Ben Swinnerton

A DOSE of sibling rivalry in the elephant enclosure will provide Melbourne Zoo visitors with extra entertainment during school holidays.

The zoo's newest bundle of elephant joy has started wooing crowds - and it's enough to make his older half-sister Mali jealous.

The 12-day-old Asian elephant has recovered well from a difficult birth and is now romping around the enclosure with the herd.

But Mali, who now weighs about 400kg, has been quick to let her 150kg half-brother know she's boss of the babies. Melbourne Zoo elephant curator Jan Steele said the new elephant's mother Kulab and his aunt Num-Oi were working hard to keep the babies on the straight and narrow.

"Mali loves that spotlight, she's used to being the only baby but now here's this little pip-squeak," Ms Steele said.

The zoo has just enjoyed a record year with more than 1.2 million visitors, with much of the increase attributed to Mali.

Premier John Brumby said he expected even more families to flock to the zoo in coming weeks to see the two babies play.