Births Happening At The Sand Diego Zoo
If you look beyond the cages and safari scenery at the San Diego Zoo you’ll find teams of talented zoologists doing all sorts of scientific studies and behavioral experiments on the animals, to say nothing of the matchmaking that has to go on before any birth announcements can go out to the rest of the zoological community.
It’s no easy task getting some of the “inmates” to pay attention to one and other with the ultimate purpose of these arranged marriages to breed animals in captivity. Sometimes even the best efforts to plan a quick wedding complete with the comfort of San Diego chair covers and a post ceremony buffet can’t always get the happy couple in the mood to consummate the marriage. Some species are more difficult than others with the birth of new Panda bears making the news worldwide, while some others such as the elephants in the San Diego Zoo a little more open to getting friendly and starting a family.
Recently, the African elephant Umngani gave birth to her third calf and with the honor she became the San Diego Zoo’s first three-time-mom. The elephant population has been growing at the park with 17 adults and now 11 calves joining the herd. San Diego Zoo keepers acknowledge that elephants are much easier to pull together as it were, to procreate than with other park animals as their social structure is very well developed making them much more open to a quick marital service followed by birth announcements a short time later.
