For immediate release
Contact: Gina Stiles, 904-757-4463, ext. 210

ARRIVAL OF TWO NEW ELEPHANTS AT

JACKSONVILLE ZOO AND GARDENS

BRINGS HOPE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

October 5, 2006– Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is now the new home for two 24-year-old female African elephants recently transferred from the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kansas. The transfer is part of an agreement between Lee Richardson Zoo and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to exchange their female elephants for breeding purposes. This move was made at the recommendation of the AZA African Elephant Species Survival Program (SSP) to help boost reproduction and enhance the population--and ultimately the long-term sustainability--of elephants held in accredited zoos. The new elephants, Moki and Chana, have been living at the Lee Richardson Zoo since 1986.  Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ female elephants, Missy and Kimba, will be transferred in late 2006, following construction at Lee Richardson Zoo to double the indoor space available to the elephants. Jacksonville Zoo has one of only a few reproductive-age African bull elephants in North America.

 To help with the transfer of its elephants, Lee Richardson Zoo has sent their lead elephant keeper to Jacksonville to assist with settling the animals into their new facility, introducing them to its staff, and easing their transition. The elephants will be off-exhibit at the Zoo while they undergo a month-long quarantine and adjust to their new surroundings.

“Although we will be sad to see Missy and Kimba go, we are very pleased to welcome Moki and Chana to our Zoo and excited about the possibility of having elephant calves     in the future,” said Dennis Pate, Executive Director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “Our participation in national level goals for healthy elephant populations places us in the forefront among zoos.  Our previous experience with the birth of an Asian elephant, good facilities, and experienced staff here and at nearby institutions bode well for this transfer,” Pate continued.

In addition to sharing passion and knowledge about elephants with its guests, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, along with other zoos, dedicate enormous resources to research and conservation that help protect wild elephants in Africa and Asia.  Additionally, zoos participate in artificial insemination and natural breeding to create a genetically diverse and sustainable population of elephants in captivity.