OMAHA — Leave it to Louie to keep astounding those around him.
Just a week after the 14-year-old African elephant bull was transferred from the Toledo Zoo to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, he has settled in with his new herd and is quickly forming bonds with the five females.
“It’s like he’s known these girls all his life, and they act like they’ve known him,” Dan Cassidy, general curator in Omaha, said. “When we did put them together, they walked around each other like they were old pals. It’s really been incredible, and it surprised all of us here.”
Louie arrived in Omaha the morning of June 23 following a smooth and uneventful overnight road trip. He joined the small herd of five females and a juvenile male that were rescued from Swaziland last year.
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He was chosen as the best available mate for the females by the Species Survival Plan, a program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that manages breeding to ensure genetic diversity in accredited institutions. His offspring will start a new bloodline among captive African elephants in North America.
Jeff Sailer, director of the Toledo Zoo, said the speed at which Louie accepted his new home is extraordinary.
“He’s been surprising at every stage of this with how quickly he’s adapted to everything,” he said. “It says a lot about how he was trained and raised here. And it says a lot about the staff at Omaha and their facility.”
The Toledo-born pachyderm’s easygoing personality accelerated virtually every part of the process thus far. He rapidly adjusted to his steel transport crate, leading to an earlier-than-expected transfer. He quickly acclimated to his new environment in Omaha, and was so at home staff began introducing him to the other elephants the next day.
“He showed interest in the girls as soon as he got here, and they did in him,” Mr. Cassidy said. “They wanted to be together. You can tell that Lou really likes being with the other animals and doesn’t like being separated.”
Mr. Sailer said integrating new animals can be tricky and often takes time, even for those species like elephants that crave social interaction.
“You’re dealing with a social animal. [Louie is] going to want to interact with other animals,” he said. “But I’m pretty amazed that everything is going as well as it is.”
Mr. Cassidy said Louie did not need to undergo the standard disease quarantine most new animals are held in. He was raised in Toledo, which has had no instances of communicable diseases in its current herd, and the Swazi elephants also have been disease free. All of Louie’s pretransfer medical tests were clear.
“We know all his medical history. It’s a clean herd there, and a clean herd here,” Mr. Cassidy said. “It wasn’t a true quarantine in the strictest sense. It was more about getting to know him and seeing how he does.”
Louie was initially introduced to the other six elephants separated by a barrier of steel posts, through which the elephants could reach with their trunks to touch each other. Mr. Cassidy said the six Swazi elephants lined up and took turns greeting Louie.
It went so well, they allowed Louie full contact with three females last Tuesday morning, followed by the other two females and the juvenile male that afternoon. The entire herd has been together as a group since Friday evening.
“He’s been nothing but a gentleman. He hasn’t picked on anyone or pushed anybody around,” Mr. Cassidy said of Louie. “There’s been no aggression. They wrap their trunks around each other and check each other out.”
Louie and the younger male naturally give each other more space, Mr. Cassidy said. Louie also responds appropriately when other elephants tell him through body language or vocalizations that they are uncomfortable.
“They totally understand each other,” Mr. Cassidy said.
The females’ ease around Louie should bode well for breeding, he added. The Omaha zoo expects two of the females to cycle in August, and a third may also be ready to breed soon.
Louie has also had no issues adjusting to new keepers, and Omaha staff are fond of the long-legged teenager.
“They love him,” Mr. Cassidy said. “We all do.”
He noted the Omaha zoo has had large crowds of visitors over the holiday weekend, and Louie is a star attraction. He has already overheard visitors recognizing Louie specifically and calling him by name.
“He’s pretty happy here,” Mr. Cassidy said. “He’s got five girlfriends and a nice big herd he’s interacting with well. He seems to have settled in without any problems.”
Contact Alexandra Mester at amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.
First Published July 4, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
