SEATTLE - Woodland Park Zoo last week took big steps to help bolster a dangerously low population of Asian elephants in North America. Dr. Dennis Schmitt, a veterinarian and elephant reproduction specialist with Southwest Missouri State University, assisted the zoo's animal management staff with performing ultrasonographic reproductive evaluations on all four of its adult female elephants. The evaluation is under the auspices of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan (SSP) to manage and expand the species' population.

The SSP for the Asian elephant species recommends that all elephants, both male (bull) and female (cow), be evaluated for identification as potential breeding candidates and to gather information on elephants with reproductive abnormalities. Strong scientific evidence indicates that if cows are not bred by age 25, their reproductive potential greatly diminishes.

Dr. Schmitt's evaluation identified three members of the herd as satisfactory potential breeding candidates: the zoo's sole African member, 33-year-old Watoto (wah-TOE-toe), who has never given birth; 22-year-old Asian, Sri (pronounced "see"), who has never given birth; and 23-year-old Asian, Chai (rhymes with "eye"), who gave birth in 2000 to a female calf, Hansa (HUN-suh).

The milestone birth of Hansa marked the zoo's first-ever elephant birth in its 102-year history and only one of two successful Asian elephants born in the same year. Most important, Hansa's immediate local and international celebrity status helped put an imperative spotlight on the dangerously low population of Asian elephants, both in zoos and in the wild. While she represents a significant birth for the elephant population, her addition falls exceedingly short of the SSP's need for a self-sustaining population.

According to population models with current reproductive and mortality rates, the North American Asian elephant population is predicted to drop to an alarming low of fewer than 20 individuals in 50 years. An historically, high infant mortality rate of nearly 30%, an aging population, fewer than a dozen proven breeding bulls in AZA zoos, the scarcity of young, breeding-age cows, and a staggering low birth rate collectively impose a serious dilemma on the species' sustainability. Further, there are currently no bulls in any AZA zoos that are trained for viable semen collection for artificial insemination.

In 2001, only four Asian elephant births occurred and not one cow is pregnant this year in any AZA zoo. To avoid a demographic extinct population, AZA zoos need to reach a minimum reproductive level of nine births a year within eight years. AZA is currently averaging less than three a year. "Such sobering factors mean zoos need to step to the plate and focus on establishing a sensible reproductive management program throughout North America," notes Bruce Bohmke, Woodland Park general curator and deputy director.

As a highly respected leader in wildlife conservation, Woodland Park has over the past decade been actively involved in the SSP for Asian elephants. With elephant Sri fast approaching the age limit for a high probability of a successful first-time birth, the zoo is taking the same approach as it did nearly four years ago when it sent Chai on a breeding loan to Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri. "We are continuing our commitment to the Asian Elephant SSP," adds Bohmke. "Now that Sri has been evaluated and determined as a breeding candidate, the SSP has formally recommended her breeding loan to St. Louis Zoo to breed with their 10-year-old bull, Raja (raw-JUH)." A departure date for Sri is pending.

The zoo has tentative plans to artificially inseminate Chai in another two years to maintain the natural four- to five-year birth interval. Another birth for Chai would provide important exposure to her offspring, Hansa, to better prepare her for a successful birth and motherhood.

The Asian Elephant SSP is among 35 SSPs that Woodland Park Zoo participates in, including the Sumatran tiger, Aruba Island rattlesnake, red-crowned crane and orangutan. In addition to ensuring genetic diversity and demographic stability, SSPs involve a variety of other cooperative conservation activities such as research, public education, reintroduction and field projects. AZA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation, with more than 205 zoos and aquariums as members.