Longtime Ohio zoo elephants moving to new zoo this summer

COLUMBUS — Two Asian elephants at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will soon be saying goodbye to Columbus as they are preparing to move to a new facility.

Connie, who has been at the Columbus Zoo for more than 30 years, and her close companion Hank, will soon be moving to a different zoo, the zoo announced this week. It has not been announced where they will be moving to.

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“Connie has been with us longer than any other elephant currently in our care, and we will miss her dearly,” Adam Felts, Senior Curator of Animal Care and Director of Animal Wellbeing, said. “We know, however, that this move is in the best interest of Connie and Hank.”

Connie came to the Columbus Zoo from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 1992. Hank arrived in 2011.

The move follows a recommendation for Hank to continue contributing to efforts to help keep elephants in North American zoos genetically diverse through the Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan, according to zoo officials.

Because Connie is so closely bonded with Hank, the elephant care leadership team felt that it was in the best interest of both of them to keep them together.

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After their departure, the Columbus Zoo expects to welcome additional male elephants in the future, including one from the Saint Louis Zoo.

In addition to Connie and Hank leaving, the male elephant, Sabu, will leave to return to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. Sabu had arrived in Columbus in 2022 for a temporary stay while Cincinnati’s Elephant Trek was under construction.

The Columbus Zoo also still has female elephants Ruby, Sundara, Phoebe, and Phoebe’s son Frankie.

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