Three New Elephants Arrive at the Zoo!

A couple if tons of fun arrived at the Zoo over the last couple of days. Three African elephants rode in on a truck from Arkansas. Their arrival boosted the Zoo's elephant herd to a size seven—making it the largest group of elephants to ever gather at the N.C. Zoo.

The new arrivals are Arti, a 24-year-old bull, Tonga, a 29-year-old cow, and Batir, Tonga's  five-year-old daughter. Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, a private facility near Greenbrier, Arkansas, agreed to send the little family group here to help the N.C. Zoo's efforts to establish a breeding program for this remarkable, but quite endangered, species. Both organizations are committed to sharing resources in order to keep North America's population of African elephants healthy and viable.
         
Eventually, the three new elephants will join Samantha, a 19-year-old female that came here from Canada in September, and the Zoo’s long-time resident elephants: C’sar, a 33-year old bull, and Diamond and Rafiki, two adult cows. Once the Zoo's animal keepers have had time to introduce the seven animals to each other, the group will form one of the largest herds of African elephants living in a North American zoo.
 
Putting the herd together will take time. All the new elephants must be quarantined for at least 30 days before keepers can begin to mix them with members of the existing herd. Artie, Tonga and Batir will spend their quarantine period in a new $2.5-million-dollar elephant holding barn that was recently built at the Zoo. The new barn is part of a $8.5-million-dollar renovation and expansion project that  improved the Zoo's existing elephant and rhinoceros exhibits and holding facilities. 

 
The N.C. Zoo Society, the private non-profit that raises money for the Zoo, put together a package of earned grants and private donations to provide $7.5 million toward this construction. Donations to the Society also paid the transporation and acquision costs of bring all four new elephants to the Zoo.

A great big thank you goes out to all the donors who made it possible to bring these magnificant animals and this wonderful gift to the people of North Carolina.