ASHEBORO, N.C. (ACME NEWS) — The North Carolina Zoo is welcoming an 18-year-old African bull elephant named Louie to its herd.
Louie arrived at the Zoo on May 25 and is settling into his new habitat. The move was recommended by the African Elephant Species Survival Plan through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Born April 30, 2003, at the Toledo Zoo in Ohio, Louie spent the last six years at the Omaha Zoo in Nebraska. He currently weighs 8,220 pounds and stands more than nine feet tall at the shoulder. Male African elephants continue to grow until age 25.
Zoo officials said they hope Louie will breed with one of the Zoo’s female elephants. An Omaha Zoo keeper traveled with Louie to help with his transition.
“The elephant team is excited to have Louie join our herd,” said Nancy Kauffman, Animal Management Supervisor. “He has been great and is making the transition well.”
The North Carolina Zoo now has seven African elephants — Louie and two other males, C’sar and Artie, plus four females: Nekhanda, Rafiki, Tonga and Batir. The multi-generational herd uses two separate habitats on the Watani Grassland.
“Louie’s arrival not only supports our overarching commitment to the preservation of endangered species, but it also provides a path to growing the elephant population at the Zoo,” said Reid Wilson, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The Zoo has participated in African elephant conservation in West Africa since 1998, using satellite tracking collars to monitor wild elephant populations and reduce human-elephant conflict.
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