HOUSTON — The newest elephant at the Houston Zoo got to meet his new roomie this week.
Chuck, 15, lumbered right up to Thai, 58, and they greeted each other and touched trunks. The two big guys already appeared to be besties despite their age difference.
We're told Chuck has a big personality and he's a real social butterfly. He's also described as very high-energy, intelligent and affectionate.
Next up, Chuck will get a chance to mix and mingle with the "ladies" in the elephant herd. They'll be separated by cable fencing at first.
“They can see and smell and touch each other but they’re not sharing the same space," Elephant Supervisor Kristin Windle explained. "We can judge their behavior and see how they’re going to feel about each other."
If there's a love connection, he'll eventually get to spend time with the female.
"It is like a dating app. We are going to introduce him to our females like that," Windle said.
All about Chuck
Chuck was born July 15, 2008, at African Lion Safari in Ontario, Canada and most recently spent six years at the Denver Zoo.
He was driven to Texas from Colorado on an 18-wheeler, a trip of more than a thousand miles.
In exchange for Chuck, the Houston Zoo sent a 14-year-old elephant named Baylor to Denver
Unlike Baylor, Chuck isn't related to any elephants at the Houston Zoo so breeding won't be an issue.
The exchange was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a program that works to ensure a genetically diverse, demographically varied and biologically sound population.
Elephants like Chuck are endangered, with less than 50,000 of them left on the planet. Tradeoffs like the one made between Houston and Denver ensure their survival for generations to come.
"Getting to send him off to help elephants as a whole, bringing an elephant in like Chuck, that’s the exciting part because we get to be a part of all of this and make sure this species is alive and thriving," Windle said.
The zoo said by visiting Chuck, guests are helping to save bull Asian elephants in the wild. A portion of each admission to the Houston Zoo goes to protecting an estimated 250 wild elephants in Asia.