The Sedgwick County Zoo has announced that a fifth female elephant in the Zoo’s herd is pregnant.

All of the herd’s females are now expecting, except for Stephanie, who is past the birthing age.   Simunye, the mother of male elephant Titan, is the only one with maternal experience.  The other females, Talia, Xolani, Arusi and Zuberi, are all expecting their first offspring.

Zoo president and chief executive officer Scott Newland made the announcement of the fifth pregnancy at Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting.  He said the Sedgwick County Zoo will be the first zoo in Kansas to have an elephant birth, and if all five births are successful, it will be the first zoo under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to have five elephant births in a single year.

Elephants have a gestation period of 22 months to 24 months.  The first birth is expected in the spring of 2025 and they will continue into the summer.   Zoo officials said the pregnancies will have a major significance for the sustainability of African elephants in North America, with the species facing a number of challenges in the wild.