Welcome to The National Elephant Center, a new model supporting excellence in elephant care.
UPDATE: APRIL 4, 23012
The National Elephant Center Breaks Ground in Fellsmere
Construction Begins on Innovative Center to Advance Elephant Care
Left to right: Mike Williams, Sr., MH Williams (General Contractor); John Lehnhardt, The National Elephant Center; Keith Winsten, Brevard Zoo; Fellsmere Mayor Susan Adams; Mark Reed, Sedgwick County Zoo; Jeff Bolling, The National Elephant Center; Rick Barongi, Houston Zoo. Photo by Sam Wolfe, TCPalm.com
Wildlife professionals from accredited zoos across the country joined local community members today in Fellsmere, Florida to officially break ground on Phase One of The National Elephant Center, a new model supporting excellence in elephant care.
When completed, The Center will be a professional elephant care facility focused on advancing the care of elephants in North America. A collaborative effort with support from 73 zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), The Center will support population management for North American elephants at AZA-accredited zoos across the country; serve as a centralized training facility for elephant caretakers; contribute to husbandry research to advance elephant welfare in human care, and participate in conservation projects in partnership with accredited zoos and elephant conservationists worldwide.
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Committed to the Future of Elephants
Even though elephants are the largest living land animals, their future is in serious jeopardy in Asia and Africa due, in most part, to elephant/human conflict and poaching. Working together with conservation partners around the world, accredited zoos that care for elephants are working collaboratively to ensure elephants remain a part of our future.
The National Elephant Center is the result of a unique collaboration among zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), individuals and organizations that care deeply about elephants.
Accredited zoos have long supported elephant conservation and research and now have come together to establish The National Elephant Center. The Center will be a professional elephant care facility focused on advancing the care of elephants in North America.
The Center will become the epicenter for AZA elephant population management and excellence in care and conservation. Today nearly 290 elephants are cared for in North American zoos accredited by the AZA. Each one serves as a vital, living link to elephants in the wild, directly inspiring people to care about the future of elephants worldwide.
Please explore our web site to learn more about elephants and the great efforts going into helping ensure a future for elephants in our world.
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