Beloved Houston Zoo elephant will be transferred to new dwelling
Duncan was born at the Houston Zoo to moms and dads Shanti and Thai in 2014.
Duncan will be leaving the Houston Zoo shortly to ideally grow to be a father. The move was advised by the the Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.
Houston ZooA longtime Houston Zoo elephant is packing his trunk for a new journey. The zoo introduced on monday that Duncan, a nine-year-old Asian elephant, is shifting to a new facility in the hopes of getting to be a father. The approaching transfer was suggested by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Prepare (SSP), which was developed to support assure the long-phrase survival of sure species in zoos and aquariums, commonly those people threatened or endangered in the wild.
“We are excited that he’ll be signing up for at another AZA-accredited facility alongside with a excellent herd,” the zoo wrote in a Monday Facebook publish. “End by this week to check out him just before he leaves our zoo.” You can also catch Duncan on the Houston Zoo’s reside webcam of the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The zoo declined to confirm when his precise last day will be as they want his new zoo to get the pleasure of announcing his arrival to the fullest.
In the comments less than the submit, zoo-goers recalled their memories of Duncan. “I have adopted Duncan due to the fact he was a infant! He was a person of my topics in a photography course quite a few a long time ago! I loathe for him to go, but, regard the cause he should!” wrote Arlene Vandal. “Aww, I went to see him suitable immediately after he was born. I are unable to believe it is time for him to go hopefully to turn out to be a dad,” commented Jacquelyn Spiers.
In February 2014, Duncan was born to parents Shanti and Thai at the Houston Zoo. For the duration of his time at the zoo, Duncan formerly designed the information when he was accidentally pushed out of the elephant enclosure by his two aunties Methai and Tess when he was only seven months old. The then-child elephant was swiftly coaxed again into the enclosure by zookeepers.
Asian elephants are the largest land-mammal on the Asian continent, even though they have shorter legs and more compact ears than their African cousins. They have been shown as endangered because 1986, with much less than 52,000 Asian elephants remaining in the wild. After Duncan leaves Houston, the zoo will have 12 elephants still left: five males and 7 females.