page_title: Oregon Zoo
section_title: Elephant Lands
hierarchical_section_title: Oregon Zoo / Exhibits / Elephant Lands
context_page_description: The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately 2 miles southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River.
  The 64-acre zoo is owned by the regional Metro government. It currently holds more than 1,800 animals of more than 230 species, including 19 endangered species and 9 threatened species. The zoo also boasts an extensive plant collection throughout its animal exhibits and specialized gardens. The zoo also operates and maintains the 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge Washington Park & Zoo Railway that previously connected to the International Rose Test Garden inside the park, but currently runs only within the zoo.
  The Oregon Zoo is Oregon's largest paid and arguably most popular visitor attraction, with more than 1.6 million visitors in 2016. The zoo is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
context_section_description: Three female (Sung-Surin "Shine", Rose-Tu, and Chendra; Lily died on November 29, 2018) and two male (Samudra and Samson) Asian elephants are displayed at the popular elephant exhibit.  All were born at the zoo, with the exception of Chendra, who was orphaned in the wild; and Samson, who was acquired from the Albuquerque Zoo. Chendra is the first Borneo elephant in the United States. On November 30, 2012, at 2:17 a.m., Rose-Tu and the late Tusko (who are also the parents of Samudra) had a female calf Lily, weighing about 300 lbs (136 kg) at birth. There is a swimming hole in which up to ten elephants can simultaneously completely submerge, sandy ground for comfortable walking and a scratching station, which the elephants often choose to scratch their head, sides, belly, etc. The exhibit was recently enlarged from 1.5 acres (6,100 m²) to 6 acres (24,000 m²), expanding into the same location as the elk and wolves (now gone) once were. Construction for the expansion began in 2013, and included a variety of terrain (meadows, forests, and mud wallows with sand lining the whole enclosure), a timed-feeding system to provide more natural stimulation, and an eco-friendly heating system to keep them warm year-round. Areas of the exhibit such as the Encounter Habitat were completed in summer of 2014, and their new habitat was finished in autumn of 2015.
caption: Packy (left) and Rose-Tu, two Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo
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