Kate Middleton: Orphan elephants and an earthquake in India

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge feeds a baby elephant during a visit to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at Kaziranga National Park. Photo / Getty

Hello littlun! The Duchess of Cambridge could not hide her delight as she gave milk to an orphaned baby elephant yesterday.

Armed with a large flask, Kate fed several hungry elephant calves while visiting an Indian wildlife park with Prince William.

She had changed into a £75 ($NZD115) ethnic print Topshop dress with wedges and had her hair tied back in a low bun for the encounter. The duchess smiled as the elephants and a baby rhino - clearly impatient for their meal - bellowed at the sight of the approaching flasks.

William "would have stayed all day" if he could. Photo / Getty

The youngsters are fed formula every few hours with added coconut milk as a supplement. William and Kate gave the elephants comforting rubs as they fed them, scratching their heads and patting their trunks.

The couple were visiting the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation near the Kaziranga National Park, north-eastern India. The centre provides emergency care for wild animals that have been injured, displaced, or orphaned.

Vivek Menon, chief executive of the Wildlife Trust of India, said: "They were absolutely thrilled and loved being with the animals. The duke said if he could, he would have spent the whole day there."

William and Kate later experienced tremors from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake which had struck Myanmar. The quake happened 500 miles from where the royals were staying, but its tremors spread across southern Asia.