The Toledo Zoo said it has welcomed a 23-year-old male African elephant to its Tembo Trail exhibit. The elephant, Ajani, is an elephant bull.
According to zoo officials, the arrival of Ajani is a milestone on the zoo's ongoing commitment to conservation and care for animal residents.
The zoo said Ajani will serve as an ambassador for his species with the other elephants, Twiggy and Renee.
Ajani will will also have potential breeding considerations at the zoo, according to officials.
“Our herd will be growing from two to four elephants in less than a year with the addition of Ajani and Renee's calf. Toledo Zoo is doing its part to fulfill the mission to inspire the community and get people excited for this new journey. We're looking forward to sharing this experience with everyone as the elephants get to know each other and live cohesively in a more natural social situation,” said Michael Frushour, curator of mammals for the Toledo Zoo.
Officials say Ajani will have a supervised introduction process to get him acclimated to the exhibit and other elephants, and zoo officials say they expect him to get along with other members of the herd, including a soon-to-be-born calf coming next spring.
Ajani was born at the Indianapolis Zoo and moved to the Birmingham Zoo in 2011 and the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2018. He is 9.5 feet tall and weighs 11,710 pounds.
He will arrive in early fall, zoo officials say.
