KUNMING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A newborn Asian elephant has been found in Xishuangbanna nature reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The baby elephant and its mother were discovered Monday morning after an elephant inspector found a 15-cm baby elephant footprint and some bloodstains when he was monitoring a group of nearly 30 Asian elephants, the reserve administration said Tuesday.

The calf and mother were both in good health and were recorded before roaming into forest in the reserve.

Asian elephants are under first-class national protection. China has about 300 of the elephants, mostly in Yunnan.