Of the 122 Asian elephants born since early 1962, only 61 are known or thought to be still alive as of December 31, 2000. Also, to help make the transition as smooth as possible, Craig Miller, Curator of Mammals and Angela Glass, Supervisor of Mammals will make the trip with the elephants and stay with them in St. Louis for the first week. The SSP is a cooperative population management and conservation program for selected species at North American zoos and aquariums. The goal of the SSP is to help ensure the survival of selected wildlife species. On Sunday, June 3 rd two juvenile capybaras escaped from their enclosure at the Jacksonville Zoo.
Capybaras are non-aggressive rodents.
These animals are adept swimmers and spend about a quarter of their waking hours in the water. Soon after the escape, a hole was discovered in the fencing surrounding the area. The fencing is under water, which prevented this flaw from being discovered earlier. Escapes at the Zoo are very rare and staff is currently working with the authorities to recover the animals safely. The Zoo has purchased heavy-duty marine grade fencing to replace the existing fencing.