Media Credit: Courtesy of Tom Gillespie
Zookeeper Jackie Buck gives a cool drink of water to Samantha, an African elephant who arrived at the N.C. Zoo on Sunday evening.
Zookeeper Jackie Buck gives a cool drink of water to Samantha, an African elephant who arrived at the N.C. Zoo on Sunday evening.
The N.C. Zoo in Asheboro welcomed the latest addition to its elephant herd on Sunday.Samantha, 19, arrived shortly after sunrise. She was trucked from the Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Canada, to participate in the N.C. Zoo's captive breeding program.Communications Director Rod Hackney said the N.C. Zoo is one of the few in the country that is actively expanding its elephant herd.Although the N.C. Zoo is expecting an additional three elephants during the next month, Hackney said that many zoos, such as the Bronx Zoo, are choosing to discontinue their elephant programs.He explained that the reductions are a result of updated regulations from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, intended to ensure the welfare of elephants.The N.C. Zoo reaction was to undergo an $8.5 million expansion of its rhinoceros and elephant enclosure. The upgrade will expand the area from 3.5 acres to 7 acres and will include a $2.5 million elephant barn, complete with heated floors, an in-roof sprinkler system for showering the animals and closed-circuit TV systems to monitor them remotely....
