If you've never wanted to take a peek into the lives of elephants, here is your chance – and you don't even have to put up with the smell.

With his big ears and long trunk, Ganesh Vijay is a bit bigger than most babies, but is just as fascinating, and you can now spy on his every move.

Ganesh is only the third elephant birth at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire.

The zoo has set up a webcam pointing towards the outdoor elephant enclosure, and readers can view the live video link on the Mercury's website.

Kim Riley, of Twycross Zoo, said: "He certainly has a bit of a swagger, he already acts like an adult male.

"He has got this grumbly roar which comes right from his belly – I didn't even recognise the sound when I first heard it, I couldn't believe how loud it was.

"It's great that people can now see Ganesh and his mates. He will occasionally go and have a sleep in the indoor enclosure, but I'm sure if people wait they can catch him playing outside."

Elephant keeper Susanne Baumler added: "The public reaction to Ganesh has been great, everyone likes to see him and they get very excited.

"He is a brave little man, very independent and doesn't mind going off on his own leaving his mum behind.

"It's fantastic to have a baby elephant here, and it's good for the elephant community as a whole."

Ganesh was born on August 6 and is already weighing in at 19 stone.

The birth was unusual because Ganesh's mother Noorjahan was the zoo's first artificially inseminated (AI) elephant.

In the wild, bull elephants would not live with the females as they live a solitary life and only join a herd for mating.

Rather than bring a bull to the Twycross herd, the zoo decided to use the AI technique.

Experts flew in from Germany to inseminate Noorjahan with a sample taken from the bull elephant, Emmett, at Whipsnade Zoo in London.

Suzanne Boardman, director at Twycross, said: "The birth of Ganesh is a great success for Twycross Zoo and the breeding programme in Europe.

"We are proud that Emmett is the father of this special calf and wish to thank Whipsnade Zoo for all its support."

Ganesh will suckle from his mother Noorjahan until he is about a year old then he will begin to take solids such as vegetables, fruit and hay. When he is fully grown he will eat his way through four bales of hay every day, these will be joined by several buckets of fruit and vegetables along with numerous gallons of water a day to wash it all down.

Asian elephants are endangered due to hunting and habitat loss and captive breeding programmes are essential to ensure the survival of this species.

Artificial insemination gives zoos the opportunity to maintain a genetically and healthy captive population.

To watch Ganesh, go to the web link during the zoo's opening hours, which are 10am to 5.30pm. Ganesh and the other elephants are free to roam between the enclosure and their indoor pen, which is off camera, as they wish so there will be periods when they are not visible on the webcam.

Watch the webcam