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DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver Zoo elephant is going to be a father with another elephant that lives in Saint Louis, which is almost 850 miles away. The female is now 10 months pregnant, but the pair have never met.
The story starts with Jake, a 14-year-old male Asian elephant, who lives at the Denver Zoo and Jade, a 17-year-old female Asian elephant, who resides at the Saint Louis Zoo.
On Thursday, the Saint Louis Zoo announced that Jade is 10 months pregnant with Jake’s calf.
The zoos are about a 12-hour drive apart. The elephants didn’t fly or drive to each other, and they weren’t in a long-distance relationship. In fact, the elephants don’t even know each other.
It’s all part of The Association of Zoos and Aquariums‘ Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan.
According to the Denver Zoo’s Facebook post, Jade’s pregnancy occurred through artificial insemination. The Denver Zoo voluntarily collected semen from Jake and sent it to St. Louis where they were able to impregnate Jade voluntarily.
The survival plan dates further back than Jade’s pregnancy.
Jake was also born through artificial insemination at African Lion Safari in Ontario, Canada in 2009. He was the first elephant born in Canada via artificial insemination.
The survival plan was created to help researchers learn how to better study, manage and conserve wild elephants.
Jade is due in late 2024 or early 2025 and the Denver Zoo will follow the pregnancy for more updates.
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