Osh is currently the only elephant left at the Oakland Zoo, but he won’t have to be all alone for much longer. The 30-year-old African elephant will be moved from Oakland to the Tennessee sanctuary as a part of the zoo’s conservation efforts, and he’ll get to reunite with an old friend.
Elephants are highly social creatures, and the Oakland Zoo has been looking for a companion for Osh for quite some time, but all their attempts failed. They eventually decided to move him to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee where he’ll join the female African elephant, Donna, his old friend who once lived in Oakland.
The Oakland Zoo will stay without an elephant for the first time in 75 years following Osh’s departure, but they don’t see this as a loss considering how much there is to gain.
“We see this change as an opportunity to strengthen our commitment to elephant conservation through ongoing research, championing anti-poaching initiatives, supporting habitat preservation, and educating the public on animal welfare, wildlife trade, and coexistence,” reads the statement by the Oakland Zoo.
Osh won’t leave the zoo until fall, and the authorities informed visitors about his departure a few months earlier to give them enough time to say goodbye in person.
