Zoo News: New Elephant Moving In; Sloth Bear Cub Named

Bozie, a 37-year-old female Asian elephant, will soon arrive on loan from the Baton Rouge Zoo

Elephant moving in: The National Zoo's three elephants are slated to get a new roomie. The Zoo announced Friday that Bozie, a 37-year-old female Asian elephant, will soon arrive on loan from the Baton Rouge Zoo.

Bozie's companion died in March. Since elephants are social animals, she'll be moving into the zoo's new Elephant Community Center, which is capable of housing a herd of up to 12 elephants.

First, though, she'll spend a minimum of 30 days in quarantine, where, the zoo says, "an expert team of elephant keepers, nutritionists and veterinarians will care for her." Then she'll begin getting to know her new co-elephants, Ambika, Kandula and harmonica-playing sensation Shanthi.

We see Shanthi will be in good company: Judging from the photo above, Bozie is already a talented artist.

Sloth bear cub named: The zoo's four-month-old sloth bear cub now has a name: Hank. The name was selected via Facebook poll and was announced Friday.

Hank's name is a nod to his parents, Hana and Francois (nicknamed “Frank”). Born Dec. 19, the cub is still kicking back with his mom in a den near the Asia Trail exhibit, but the zoo expects the whole family to make their public debut sometime in the summer.

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