Chendra is pregnant and may have TB

We are sad to report that the lone Borneo Pygmy elephant at the Oregon Zoo is pregnant, the father as of now is still undetermined, it is either Samson or Samudra. Chendra is also in quarantine waiting the results of the latest TB test.

There are many issues that concern us about this pregnancy, first and formost, the ongoing problem of breeding more elephants who will live and die in captivitiy, suffering as all the others do, from zoochotic behavior and diseases and often a shortened life. In addition, Chendra is old for a first pregnancy, and there are unknown factors about the viabiity of breeding her with other elephants who are not Bornean. One thing for sure, if the zoo’s mission is truly conservation, this will do nothing to conserve Borneo elephants. Please read and comment to this article online.