Sedgwick County Zoo applies to get six new elephants

But instead, 18 elephants will call the US home at three different zoos, bringing excitement to visitors, and pride to the staff. Drought conditions and degraded park land require Swaziland to truck in hay from South Africa to feed the elephants daily.

Six elephants will arrive at Henry Doorly Zoo this fall, the zoo announced Friday.

Eighteen elephants from Swaziland will find new homes at the Dallas Zoo, the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan., and the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb.

Those elephants have already been removed from two African parks to prevent degradation of the landscape and to make room for endangered rhinos.

Hudson said the zoo has extra property on the west side of Marsalis Avenue where the new animals will be cared for until next spring, when they can be added to the Giants exhibit. Relocating them elsewhere in the region is unrealistic due to issues related to excessive poaching, loss of habitat and elephant-human conflicts.

They will be housed in what the zoo says is the largest elephant barn in North America.

All three have applied for permits that are required to allow the import.

Each zoo has put in an application to receive 6 elephants. Swaziland is poised to play a major role in rhino conservation efforts and we can support that while establishing new, multi-generational elephant herds in the United States. The Sedgwick County Zoo’s new “Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley” exhibit will open to the public next May.