Three new African elephants will make their way from Philadelphia to Baltimore next year.
Petal, 50, Kallie, 24, and Bette, 23, are currently residing at the Philadelphia Zoo and are expected to be transported by truck to the Maryland Zoo in late spring 2007. Petal, Kallie and Bette will join Dolly and Anna, the zoo?s current resident elephants.
“We will have one of the largest herds of elephants on the East Coast, which will make the Maryland Zoo a much larger attraction,” said Kerry Graves, vice president of marketing at the Maryland Zoo. “It?s huge not only for the city but the state as well.”
He added that the fact that many zoos are closing their elephant exhibits due to the new regulations will only add to the popularity of the Maryland Zoo.
Regulations from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums state that places that house elephants either need to be expanded for breeding or become a holding facility. The Philadelphia Zoo was planning an expansion, but lack of funds and land caused them to have to move the three elephants to the Maryland Zoo.
“We?re glad our three African elephants will remain part of the AZA community,” said Vikram Dewan, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Zoo. “We know that they will continue to inspire millions of visitors who may never have the opportunity to see elephants in Africa or Asia and that they will receive excellent care from an experienced and highly committed staff in Baltimore.”
The expanded herd will allow the Maryland Zoo to accelerate its elephant breeding program. Dolly has been artificially inseminated before with no results. Zoo officials are hoping that Kallie and Bette, who are younger, will have a better chance of successful insemination.
Graves said that plans to introduce bulls (males) into the herd are in the works for natural breeding.
