History
In 2004 the idea of creating a national center for elephants came as the result of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Elephant Management Strategic Planning Meeting involving thought leaders and members of the Elephant Taxon Advisory Group/Species Survival Plan (TAG/SSP). For many years, curators, keepers, veterinarians and others associated with elephants at Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions wanted a facility to provide short- and long-term solutions to help manage the nation’s 290 (approx.) elephants that live at 109 different AZA-accredited facilities.
Following the meeting, dozens of AZA-accredited zoos donated critical funding support to explore options for establishing a Center to serve as a tool in elephant management and conservation.
A search was launched to research potential sites to locate the center. Initially a team of elephant experts selected property offered by Waste Management, Inc. near Okeechobee in central Florida.
The National Elephant Center was formally announced in February 2008 at a ceremony held at the Houston Zoo. The Center was expected to break ground in late 2008, with a goal to welcome its first elephants sometime in 2009. The original site was 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 other endangered species. Waste Management was to lease the land to The National Elephant Center for $1 per year for 40 years.
However, it was eventually decided that a site in Fellsmere, Florida was more suitable, and groundbreaking occurred in April 2012. The center's first residents arrived in May 2013, when a family group of two females and two males arrived from Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Completion of the initial plan is likely to take up to 10 years.
Read more about this topic: The National Elephant Center
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