Calgary Zoo officials have announced plans to relocate their endangered Asian elephants to another facility.
Officials say the move will happen within four to five years.
The Calgary Zoo President says the move is based on the importance of keeping the animals in a herd.
“Their welfare is better served by being part of a large social group; something that can only be achieved at a facility with more year-round space than we can provide given the physical limitations of living on an island in a northern climate,” says Dr. Clément Lanthier, in a news release.
Given the importance of this social structure, all three female elephants, Kamala, Swarna and Maharani, and Maharani’s calf expected to be born in February 2013, will be kept together as a family unit.
The bull elephant, Spike, will be relocated to an appropriate facility in cooperation with the Miami zoo that still owns him, and after consultation with the Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan.
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The zoo has had elephants for more than 40 years.
The time frame for the move is based on what is best for the elephants.
Transporting elephants is a stressful experience for them and young animals are particularly susceptible to stress and stress-induced infections. The proposed timeframe has been selected based around avoiding transport during the window of increased susceptibility for the young calf.
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