Woodland Park Zoo’s female Asian elephants Bamboo and Chai are indulging in peanut butter balls and fruitsicles at their temporary home at San Diego Zoo.
Chai, 36, and Bamboo, 48, continue to do well at their temporary home. The pair was headed to meet their new family at Oklahoma City Zoo when a change in a forecasted storm rerouted the caravan to the south. On April 17, a conservative decision was made to go to the San Diego Zoo and allow the elephants to rest.
The elephants are together in San Diego Zoo’s elephant quarantine area, which includes indoor rooms and an outdoor yard. Quarantine is standard for any animal newly arriving to an accredited zoo.
In addition to the large quantities of hay, grain and produce the elephants consume each day, San Diego Zoo staff has been collecting browse plants for Chai and Bamboo, as they were used to at Woodland Park Zoo. Yesterday’s flavor of the day – elm – was a big hit.
Woodland Park Zoo is moving forward with its plans to relocate Bamboo and Chai to Oklahoma City Zoo where they can join a family with a larger, multi-generational herd.
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes onsite wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is made accessible to children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the Internet and in children’s hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
