Location
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Views from the
Center Site
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Land Use Concepts
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Oasis Waterholes
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Site Overview
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Illustrative Aerial View
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The National Elephant Center is located on 300 acres owned by Waste Management in Okeechobee, Florida. It is adjacent to property that Waste Management maintains as a natural area certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council that provides food and nesting areas for threatened Florida sandhill cranes and several other endangered species. These protected areas ensure critical space for species under pressure, not unlike elephant populations that are endangered in Africa and Asia.
PLANNED FACILITIES
The National Elephant Center will feature state-of-the-art facilities and complex landscapes that work together with elephants’ natural behaviors.
Key components include on-site housing for Elephant Center staff and two large barns, one for Asian and the other for African elephants. Each barn will initially accommodate up to nine animals. The barns are designed to provide staff with high levels of flexibility in order to determine the best management options for each of the elephants in their care.
Surrounding a central hub outside the barns is a 10-acre habitat that can be subdivided and used in a variety of ways including introductions, quarantine, training activities and births.
THE CENTRAL ELEPHANT MEANDER
The Center’s primary component is the 50-acre Central Elephant Meander. This expansive area includes a series of complex landscapes with the goal of providing a rich habitat that gives elephants access to everything they like to do throughout their day. Linked by a series of paths and trails, the area introduces landform and habitat elements from the savannahs and woodlands of their home ranges including large waterholes, sand dunes, plants and scattered browse.
The Central Meander will also serve as an innovative space used to develop new habitat features for zoos across the country. From testing new foraging systems to exploring pool heights, we will develop new enrichment and landscape features that can be recreated in zoos nationwide. We’re excited to implement new ideas and share them with our colleagues across the country.
THINKING GREEN
As conservationists committed to making a difference, The National Elephant Center will use green construction practices and operations to ensure we are responsible stewards of the earth. Working with our partners at Waste Management, we will incorporate used materials for barriers and buildings. We are also aggressively pursuing energy efficiency and reuse, such as solar energy and collected rainwater.
