News-Record.Com (Greensboro, NC)
October 29, 2007

Original Article

Two of the three elephants that arrived this weekend, an adult mother and her 5-year-old daughter, explore their holding facility. Credit: Tom Gillespie/N.C. Zoo

ASHEBORO - Three African elephants arrived at the North Carolina Zoo this past weekend, bringing the zoo's elephant collection to seven, the largest in its history.

Artie, a 24-year-old male, arrived Friday. Tonga, a 29-year-old female, and her 5-year-old female calf, Batir, were delivered Sunday, according to a news release. All three traveled to Asheboro via truck from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Greenbrier, Ark.

The three were placed in a new $2.5 million elephant holding barn constructed as part of the "Watani Grasslands Reserve," an $8.5 million renovation and expansion of the N.C. Zoo's elephant and rhinoceros facilities.

Following a mandatory 30-day quarantine required of all new animals arriving at the zoo, the three elephants will be gradually introduced to the rest of the elephant collection, a process that could take several months.