Ambika, 71, Smithsonian National Zoo

@tigris115

Yes, but there is some red tape around that... In theory a good idea, but most transfers would likelt just fall through...
Also, if Western zoos take the elephants from the Indonesian/Thai zoos, then these zoos will get other animals from the wild to make up for it...

Good point. I must remember that many of the places in Asian elephant range countries are super dubious. How about setting up a breeding area managed by WAZA in Thailand?

@tigris115

Good idea! Might try and get through to them with that one, because it could well be what they need. The only thing is there are some suspicious governments in those areas who will suspect WAZA of spying on them

Like it could double as an elephant laboratory where we can learn everything we need to know about elephant reproductive biology as well as coordinating with zoos to house breeding groups as they have a glut of elephants in captivity

This is already happening in all range countries, due to extensive efforts in situ by many groups like Bronx's Wildlife Conservation Society. US Wildlife Dept is in charge of enforcing the 1976 CITES treaty, and they have allowed only a few imports--2 from zoos and 2 groups of Africans that were going to be killed/culled in their home countries. There was a single exception made for an orphaned injured Bornean elephant who would have died and was allowed to come to Portland. There are about 6 elephants (including NZP's Shanthi, Bozie, Kamala, and Swarna, Calgary's late Bandara, and Skanik in Edmonton, Canada) who came from Sri Lanka's Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage in 1976. You might think zoos could import orphaned elephants from a place such as this, but times have changed, and animals there are being put back into the wild in protected areas. It's virtually impossible to import any animal from the wild.

It's good that animals are being reintroduced back into the wild but it's still a big-time bummer that elephants in U.S. zoos are going to die off without more young females