Utah's Hogle Zoo
Elephant Updates
After a comprehensive evaluation, Utah’s Hogle Zoo has moved African elephants Christie and Zuri to the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, another Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo, to provide them both the best chance to have a calf in the important social dynamic of a multigenerational herd.
October 2026 update from the team at Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium: Zuri is expecting a calf in late 2027
We are POSITIVEly thrilled to share some exciting news from Elephant Expedition! Seventeen-year-old Zuri is expecting a calf in late 2027, which would make it the first baby elephant to be born here. The father is 21-year-old Tamani, and this is the first offspring for both parents. Tamani and Zuri arrived at the KCZoo in 2015 and 2023, respectively, and received a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. Zuri’s care team tells us that the expectant mom is doing wonderfully and voluntarily participates in sonograms and other health care.
Your Questions Answered
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.