Denver Zoo welcomes new Asian elephant from Houston Zoo to its bachelor herd

DENVER (KDVR) — Two brothers were reunited at the Denver Zoo after an elephant was moved from the Houston Zoo on the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to Denver at the recommendation of the AZA’s Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. Many AZA-accredited zoos across the country participate in the SSP program “for the greater good of species in human care,” according to a zoo spokesperson.

A Denver Zoo spokesperson told FOX31 that elephants live in a matriarchal social system. Young male elephants leave their maternal herds as they mature, around 8 to 11 years old, so they can live freely in bachelor herds with an older bull who serves as a mentor and teacher to the young. male elephants.

Baylor is related to each of the Houston Zoo’s elephants, but is not quite ready to enter a breeding herd, according to the Denver Zoo. That’s why AZA chose the Denver Zoo’s bachelor herd as its new home.

Last month, Chuck, one of the Denver Zoo’s beloved single elephants, was transferred to the Houston Zoo for similar reasons.

Baylor was reunited with his younger brother, Duncan, who joined the Denver Zoo’s bachelor herd in April 2023.

The zoo said Baylor appears to be adjusting well to his new environment.