Animal world Elephant cow Farha from Zurich Zoo is pregnant

The 19-year-old elephant cow Farha from Zurich Zoo is happily expecting: she is due to give birth to a baby elephant in spring 2025. The father of the unborn calf is Thai, a bull elephant of the same age.

The pregnancy of Farha is a ray of hope, zoo director Severin Dressen was quoted as saying in a press release on Monday. According to the zoo, an addition would be important for the female and her group after one successful and two unsuccessful births in the last seven years.

The calculated birth date is between mid-April and early May 2025, according to the statement. Asian elephants, of which Farha is one, have a maximum gestation period of 22 months.

As Farha's mother Ceyla-Himali was recently euthanized due to her age, this birth will also take place under different group conditions, the zoo writes. From mid-March, the veterinary team will start taking daily measurements of the hormone levels. This will allow the time of birth to be predicted as accurately as possible and ensure that the birth process is closely monitored from the outset.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Asian elephant is classified as an endangered species. According to the zoo, there are no more than 40,000 wild elephants left in the world because their natural habitat is being increasingly destroyed. Against this backdrop, the keeping and breeding of this species at Zurich Zoo and in all zoos participating in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) is of great importance for the conservation of the species.

SDA