Visit Singapore Zoo: Elephant gets a new girlfriend

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Elephant gets a new girlfriend

Birds do it, bees do it, so why not elephants - especially when it comes to Singapore's most famous jumbo?

Yes, Chawang has a new girlfriend, and zookeepers are wasting no time in getting the pair amorous.

This is not about a quick 'Thank you, ma'am' here.

Each morning for the past two weeks, 31-year-old Chawang waits patiently in his den at Night Safari.

Gambir, the Singapore Zoo's 19-year-old female elephant, then lumbers over for their date, albeit with at least one or two other older females for company.

In the first week, a wire mesh separated the would-be lovers as they sniffed each other, trunk to trunk.

Then, when the carers were sure love was in the air, they were allowed to be together, even if privacy was not an option for the pair.

The couple's matchmakers - the zoo and Night Safari's team of veterinarians, curators and keepers - are naturally anxious that their baby-making plans bear fruit.

After all, the last time the parks welcomed a new addition to their pachyderm family was in 2001 - when Chawang and Sri Nandong had a boy, Sang Wira.

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