A touching reunion took place at a German zoo when Pori, a 39-year-old elephant, reunited with her daughter Tana and granddaughters Tamika and Elani after being separated for 12 years. The emotional moment was captured in a moving image of the three generations touching trunks at Bergzoo in Halle, Germany.
This reunion is part of a program to recreate natural familial bonding in captive elephant herds. In the wild, female elephants typically stay with their mothers for life, while males leave to find a mate.
The image depicts African elephant Pori (right), aged 39, being reunited with her daughter Tana (left), aged 19, after being separated for 12 years. Pori is also seen touching trunks with her granddaughter Tamika, aged 4, whom she met for the first time. The source of this information is the Daily Mail.
Pori, born in Zimbabwe in 1981, was brought to Germany in 1983. She lived in Magdeburg Zoo until 1997, before being transferred to Tierpark Berlin for breeding. In 2001, she gave birth to Tana, her first calf.
The elephant house will be temporarily closed to allow the elephants to adjust to their new family dynamics. However, visitors can still observe the reunited family in their outdoor area. Currently, Pori is in a separate enclosure, but she will soon join her offspring in the outer section to become acquainted with them.
The Elephant House will remain closed for some time to allow the family to reconnect. In the photo, Tana can be seen holding out her trunk at the Bergzoo in the city of Halle. The Daily Mail is the source of the photo.
According to Dr. Dennis Muller, the Zoo director, Pori’s arrival in Halle is crucial for modern elephant husbandry. He stressed that their objective is to ensure that all elephant herds in European zoos are cared for in natural family structures. This reunion brings them one step closer to achieving that aim.
The elephant population in zoos is managed under a conservation breeding program (EEP), which is composed of expert committees from different zoos that determine new herd compositions and coordinate animal moves.
The elephant house will be closed for the time being to give the animals a chance to become reacquainted, according to a statement from the zoo (Pictured: Pori is lifted into her new home at the Bergzoo in Halle, left, and a keeper feeds one of the elephants, right). Source: Daily Mail
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