Greater Vancouver Zoo has welcomed new additions to its animal family this summer, including two common elands, three oryxes, and a pig named Harriet.
The elands and oryxes, both African antelope species, arrived from a safari park in Quebec. They are currently settling into a temporary holding area, south of the zebra habitat, confirmed the zoo鈥檚 director of animal care Menita Prasad.
Zoo staff say the animals will remain in the holding area for several weeks to adjust to their new environment, before joining the rest of the herd.
Harriet the pig also found a new home at the zoo after serving her time as a support animal at the University of British Columbia.
She now shares an enclosure with Daisy, a 10-year-old Vietnamese pot-bellied pig who recently lost her longtime companion. Prasad said the two pigs have gone through the introduction phase and are getting along.
There was a lot of planning involved in welcoming new animals to the facility, Prasad said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just bringing in animals to augment our current population,鈥� she added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of work and coordination that goes into making sure we are bringing in the best animals to suit our existing animals.鈥�
This process included transportation planning, ensured rest stops, animal health testing, and extensive genealogy research 鈥� all steps important when introducing potential breeding animals.
鈥淎 lot of the animals that exist in zoos could potentially be used to repopulate, should animal populations crash in the wild,鈥� Prasad said.
With the arrival of the two female elands, the zoo's eland population has increased from three to five. The oryx herd has also grown with the addition of one male and two females joining the five females already at the zoo.
Names of the new animals have yet to be announced, but are expected to be revealed by zoo staff in the coming weeks.
Visitors can look forward to seeing them in their public habitats later this summer, Prasad concluded.
