Elephant Updates

Christie and Zuri departed Utah’s Hogle Zoo on October 17,  2023, and arrived safely at their new home at the KCZoo the following morning. Christie and Zuri, along with the keepers, trained for several months for the move and they were calm and comfortable during the entire process and journey. 

The decision to move Christie and Zuri to the KCZoo was to provide them both the best chance to have a calf in their prime reproductive window, and to join the social dynamic of a multigenerational herd of seven other African elephants. In 2020 the KCZoo upgraded the 3-acre Elephant Expedition habitat, providing ample space for the whole herd to thrive.

This was something we evaluated and considered. Utah’s Hogle Zoo had experts evaluate our current exhibit spaces and determined extensive upgrades and shifts would be necessary before a bull elephant could live at Utah’s Hogle Zoo.

The Elephant Encounter exhibit has been renamed to the High Desert Oasis exhibit. The former yards that housed the elephants were large enough to house several smaller species of animals. Guests can see Bactrian camels, Mongolian wild horses, a bachelor herd of Hartmann’s mountain zebras, and the resident geriatric rhinos, George and Princess. 

Not likely. Experts evaluated our current exhibit spaces and determined extensive upgrades and shifts would be necessary to be able to house a herd of elephants again. As of now, with the existing space and topography of Utah’s Hogle Zoo, we believe there is no feasible way to house elephants at the level we believe the species deserves.

With our rich history in caring for elephants, Utah’s Hogle Zoo will always support elephant conservation and education through ticket sales and our worldwide conservation partnerships.