Denver Zoo welcomes new elephant from Houston Zoo to bachelor herd

Brooke Williams
·2 min read

DENVER (KDVR) — Two brothers have been reunited at the Denver Zoo after an elephant was relocated from the Houston Zoo at the recommendation of The Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to Denver at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. Many AZA-accredited zoos across the country participate in the SSP program “for the greater good of species in human care,” according to a zoo spokesperson.

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A spokesperson for the Denver Zoo explained to FOX31 that elephants live in a matriarchal social system. Young male elephants leave their maternal herds as they begin maturing, around 8 to 11 years old, so they can live loose in bachelor herds with an older bull that serves as a mentor and teacher for the young male elephants.

Baylor is related to each of the elephants at the Houston Zoo, but is not quite ready to enter a breeding herd, according to the Denver Zoo. That’s why AZA chose Denver Zoo’s bachelor herd as his new home.

  • Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
    Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
  • Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
    Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
  • Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
    Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
  • Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
    Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
  • Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
    Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
  • Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)
    Baylor, a 14-year-old elephant named after the Baylor College of Medicine, was brought to the Denver Zoo at the recommendation of the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan. (Photo: Dailyn Souder via Denver Zoo)

Last month, one of the Denver Zoo’s beloved bachelor elephants, Chuck, was relocated to the Houston Zoo for similar reasons.

Baylor was reunited with his younger brother, Duncan, who joined the bachelor herd at the Denver Zoo in April 2023.

Meet Duncan: Denver Zoo’s newest Asian elephant bachelor

The zoo said Baylor seems to be settling into his new environment well.

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