FELLSMERE — A new resident from Nashville is calling the National Elephant Center in Fellsmere home.
Animal care staff at The National Elephant Center welcomed Juno, a 36-year-old African elephant from the Nashville Zoo on Tuesday.
Juno will live at the 225-acre National Elephant Center as Nashville Zoo begins constructing improvements to its elephant facilities. The move is the first of a series of steps the zoo is taking to further enhance its elephant program and facilities.
“We are thrilled to host Juno at The National Elephant Center, where she will continue to receive world-class care,” said Kim Smith, the Center’s board chair. “Our professional animal care team is committed to providing the highest standards of care for elephants welcomed to The Center.”
Caring for elephants like Juno is one of the reasons why the Center was first envisioned and created.
The Nashville Zoo is among more than 70 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited institutions that supported the construction of The National Elephant Center, which is designed to assist zoos in herd management.
The center provides the flexibility of off-site, professional elephant care during renovations or herd transitions.
Juno joins the company of two other African elephants, Thandi and Tsavo, currently at The Center from Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The elephants spend their days foraging and mud wallowing in The Center’s waterholes and large elephant meanders.
Plans call for Nashville Zoo’s other elephants to join Juno at the center in time to facilitate additional changes to the elephant barn and habitat though exact details and timing are still in development.