The National Zoo in Washington has received two new female Asian elephants, mother Trong Nhi and daughter Nhi Linh, from the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands.
The two elephants, who arrived Sunday night, join four other female Asian elephants in the Elephant Trails exhibit. The hope is that one of the two new elephants will be able to breed with Spike, the sole resident male.
“We are proud of this international cooperation with the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the North American breeding program that enables us to support a healthy backup population of this endangered species in America,” Rotterdam Zoo Director Erik Zevenbergen said.
The mother-daughter pair were transported from the Netherlands to neighboring Belgium, then flown 3,700 miles across the Atlantic to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York before being driven another 238 miles down to the National Zoo.
While the two elephants are being settled for the short term, the pair are projected to make their public debut sometime in the first half of December.
“Trong Nhi and Nhi Linh are not only important social additions to our herd, but also they are key to our efforts to help sustain the Asian elephant population in North America and around the world,” Brandie Smith, director of the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, said in the zoo’s announcement.
In the interim, the zoo will provide updates on the new arrivals on its website and social media.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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