Project: Pachyderms

Much of the talk at the American Zoo and Aquarium conference in Chicago last week was about Hurricane Katrina's impact on the Audubon Zoo and Aquarium and about elephants.
(The NC Zoo is preparing to accept elephants from other zoos and increase its capacity for exhibiting and caring for elephants and rhinos; the NC Zoo Society is raising the majority of the costs [well in excess of $6 million] through a capital campaign called Project: Pachyderms.)

The result will be larger herds of elephants and rhinos, as well as improved night quarters. The AZA conference discussions focused much on the need to provide elephants with more socialization. The NC Zoo aims to have 10 or more elephants. Young elephants, which we plan will be born in North Carolina, will remain with mothers and "aunts" in a natural, female-dominated herd.

The new elephant facility will also allow for something else called for in papers delivered at the AZA conference - access to spacious exhibits, even at night. Elephants remain active as much as 20 hours daily. The new NC Zoo elephant barn will allow for night access to the seven-acre exhibit.

We received word today from the F.M. Kirby Foundation that it is providing another $142,500 for the project. This will bring its total to Project: Pachyderms to $250,000. The Kirby Foundation is sponsor of the African elephant collection at the NC Zoo.