Houston Zoo Houston Zoo news 2018

That is what I thought was the case, but a part of me was hoping for a novel species of pinniped. It will be great to see an exhibit devoted to the Galapagos though. Thanks for the response!

It's impossible to made a Galapagos exhibit, because exporting wild animals from Galapagos islands is strictly banned, it's the most rigid integral reserve in the world. So, besides Galapagos giant tortoises, that are the only endemic species widespread in zoos, one cannot see Galapagos endemic species without go to these islands: sea lions, penguins, flightless cormorants and marine and land iguanas are things that none zoo can acquire.
 
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https://www.bizjournals.com/houston...o-launches-150m-capital-campaign-for-new.html

This looks spectacular!
 
Man, the new plans look amazing! I'm in a Texas conservation volunteer position right now, I know a lot of people who are gonna be excited about the Texas wetland exhibit. Personally I'm super happy that the sea lions will finally get an updated exhibit, but I never expected a tunnel! That's gonna be so cool!
 
While I'm elated that the news of Tess' pregnancy has been made public, Hyak_II made a very valid point on post #7. I understand your enthusiasm and excitement, as a pregnancy is big news, but out of respect for the primary source, it's best to refrain from announcing unpublicized news until the primary source has officially announced it. It's the right thing to do. :)
 
Can anyone confirm if Shanti is pregnant? From recent pictures I’ve see she looks like she’s expecting
 
Can anyone confirm if Shanti is pregnant? From recent pictures I’ve see she looks like she’s expecting

How is that possible? Shanti gave birth to Joy in July of 2017 so the possibility of her being pregnant is low. However, there's a potential chance that Shanti has conceived again but she would only be in the early stage of pregnancy.

@ctfctf7 Can you provide any recent pictures of Shanti?
 
Can anyone confirm if Shanti is pregnant? From recent pictures I’ve see she looks like she’s expecting
Well considering she just gave birth a year ago, I'm going to go with a hard no on that one. Now to be fair there is a reasonable chance that she is indeed pregnant again, however if she is it would be in its early stages and she would not be showing at this point. She just seems to naturally be a bit of a "rotund" elephant.
 
After evaluating Shanti's reproductive history, there's a small possibility she could be pregnant.

Shanti's Reproductive History:

0.1 Bella (Date of Birth: August 17 2004)
2 years, 1 month, and 14 days between the birth of Bella and Mac
1.0 Mac (Date of Birth: October 1 2006)
3 years, 7 months, and 4 days between the birth of Mac and Baylor
1.0 Baylor (Date of Birth: May 5 2010)
3 years, 9 months, and 3 days between the birth of Baylor and Duncan
1.0 Duncan (Date of Birth: February 8 2014)
3 years, 5 months, and 4 days between the birth of Duncan and Joy
0.1 Joy (Date of Birth: July 12 2017)

In August of 2004, Shanti gave birth to her first calf Bella but she rejected her daughter which resulted in the handraising of Bella. Shanti conceived in November or December of 2004 as she gave birth to her second calf Mac in October of 2006.

Given Shanti's reproductive history, she could be pregnant but the probability is low.

However, the Houston Zoo may be breeding Shanti and Tess to Thai soon after the birth of a calf. At 53 years old, Thai has far exceeded the median life expectancy of a captive bull Asian elephant. The Houston Zoo has probably come to the realization that the reproductive clock is ticking for Thai so they're producing as many calves through him within the next decade to ensure his genetics are well represented before his passing.
 
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