Cincinnati Zoo announces arrival of 4 new elephants from Dublin Zoo

By Fletcher Keel

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    CINCINNATI, Ohio (WLWT) — The Cincinnati Zoo is preparing to welcome some giant additions to their family next year!

Four Asian elephants – two adults females and their two young male calves – arrived at the zoo on Sunday and are settling into their new Elephant Trek habitat.

The quartet – SheRa, Kabir, Anak and Sanjay – come to the Queen City from the Dublin Zoo on a joint recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and the Endangered Ex-situ program, the zoo says.

“We’ve been collaborating with the Dublin Zoo’s care team for more than a year and have spent a lot of time with our new residents in their former home,” said Eric Duning, Cincinnati Zoo’s elephant team leader, in a press release. “I’ve been with them for the past few weeks and accompanied them to Cincinnati. We also brought members of their care team here to assist with their transition.”

The zoo says the elephants will spend time by themselves in Elephant Trek this winter before being introduced to the rest of the herd sometime before the new habitat opens to the public next summer.

“We are sad to see them go but thrilled that they will be in this great new facility,” said Miguel Bueno, General Curator at Dublin Zoo, in a press release. “Their departure will allow us to move forward with breeding recommendations that we have for our remaining female elephants who are awaiting the arrival of a new bull to resume our successful multi-generation breeding program.”

According to the zoo, the bull elephant, Sabu, will be the first to be introduced to the new elephants when he returns from the Columbus Zoo, where he’s been since November of 2022 to breed.

The zoo adds that their females, including SheRa’s aunt, Schottzie, will join the herd after Sabu’s introduction, with the goal of letting the multi-generational herd roam together in the new five-acre space.

While the new elephants wont be available to be seen by the public for several months, the zoo says updates will be posted on their progress to their social media channels.

Here is more information on each of the new residents at the zoo:

SheRa (known as Yasmin at the Dublin Zoo) 32-year-old female Mother of Kabir Related to Cincinnati Zoo’s Schottzie Kabir 6-year-old male Son of SheRa Anak 20-year-old female Mother of Sanjay Sanjay 5-year-old male Son of Anak

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