Booty Call: Toledo Elephant Louie Must Have Sex With Omaha Zoo Herd

TOLEDO, OH — Louie, the Toledo Zoo’s big, 14-year-old African bull elephant, will soon travel by train to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, to fulfill a critical but no doubt fun-for-the-elephant mission: Go forth with unfettered abandon, young Louie, and have your way with five soon-to-be very hormonal female elephants.

Louie is a crowd favorite in Toledo, but this is a sweet move for him — and not just for the obvious, what-bull-elephant-wouldn’t-want-that reasons. The Omaha Zoo and Aquarium’s indoor and outdoor elephant areas cover more than five acres, the indoor elephant herd space is the largest in North America at 29,000 square feet and there’s a 150,000-gallon pool that may even set the mood for Louie’s big move.

Zoo matchmakers are eager to get Louie settled into his new digs so the courtship can begin with the females, among six elephants rescued from a Swaziland drought last year. The females are in heat now, the zoo said in a statement, and will be again in August.

Louie’s upcoming transfer from Toledo was authorized under what’s known as the Species Protection Plan, which moves endangered animals around the nation’s accredited zoos in a breeding program aimed at ensuring genetic diversity among captive elephants. As wild Swaziland elephants, the females in Omaha introduce new, wild bloodlines to the captive elephant population. And with very few relatives in accredited Association of Zoos and Aquariums population, Louie is a good genetic catch, too.

The goals of the SSP aside, having babies is good for naturally maternal elephants, both physically and emotionally.

Nature intends motherhood for them, and the longer they go without getting pregnant, the harder it is, according to Jason Herrick, the Henry Doorly Zoo’s director of reproductive sciences. “Being pregnant while they are young will help extend their reproductive lifespan,” he said in a statement.

Toledo Zoo officials said they’re happy for Louie, who was born at that facility on April 30, 2003. They said he will be missed, of course, by visitors who have learned about the critical threats to wild elephants while watching him grow from a 275-pound infant to a 6,000-pound, nearly 9-foot-tall adult.

Toledo Zoo Executive Director Jeff Sailer told The Toledo Blade that Louie is “an amazing ambassador for our city and his species.”

“It’s time for him to go to the next stage of his life,” Sailer said. “He will be well cared for and loved in Omaha.”

Louie’s mother, Renee, half-brother Lucas and companion, Twiggy, will remain on exhibit at the Toledo Zoo. It’s possible that Louie’s future offspring could move to Toledo, and Louie himself could return one day.

“As long as he’s happy and healthy there, that’s where he’ll be,” Sailer told The Blade.

African elephants' staggering decline in their home ranges is due largely to human encroachment and merciless ivory hunters who harvest their tusks, leaving the elephants to an excruciating death. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists Loxodonta africana, their scientific name, as vulnerable and estimates there are only about 415,000 of the world’s largest mammals roaming 37 African nations.

Photo via Toledo Zoo