Melbourne baby elephant shows improvement

A baby elephant in a critical condition at Melbourne zoo has shown signs of improvement as her round-the-clock care continues.

The Asian elephant calf was born last week with a congenital carpal flexure condition that prevents her from straightening her front legs, standing up and bearing her own weight.

That means she can't suckle from her mother, Num-Oi and she requires casts on her front legs and bottle feeding.

The zoo's head vet, Michael Lynch, says her condition remains critical but the calf is showing more energy.

On Thursday the calf was immobilised so a cast on her front right leg could be removed and another put on the front left to correct her tendons.

X-rays show an improvement in the elephant's right leg, Dr Lynch said.