EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — With Obi the giraffe leaving the El Paso Zoo soon, another endangered animal will also depart to support critical conservation efforts, the City of El Paso said in a news release on Friday, Dec. 6.
Obi the giraffe will be going to the Dallas Zoo and Olan the Malayan tiger is heading to the Palm Beach Zoo in Dreher Park, Fla.
The animal transfers are a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) “ensuring the long-term sustainability of endangered species through strategic breeding programs,” the City said.
According to the City, the SSP focuses on managing animal populations to maintain genetic diversity and help critically endangered animals survive.
“It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to animals we’ve cared for and nurtured, but we’re proud of the vital role they’ll play in the future of their species,” El Paso Zoo Director Joe Montisano said. “Obi and Olan will always be part of our Zoo family, and their contributions to conservation are a testament to the work we do here.”
Obi the giraffe is scheduled to leave for the Dallas Zoo to join a herd of five females, in hopes of starting his own family.
The City highlighted that young giraffes leave their family groups, known as towers, to form their own families. Moving Obi before he is fully grown reduces stress and allows space for the Zoo’s next giraffe calf, expected in early January.
Animal lovers who wish to bid goodbye to Obi can do so on Dec. 12.
Olan is an 11-year-old Malayan tiger who arrived from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle back in 2019. Olan was relocated to the El Paso Zoo in hopes of breeding with Seri, a 17-year-old Malayan tiger.
According to the City, Olan and Seri did not produce any offsprings and the SSP recommends Olan to move Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park in Florida.
The number of Malayan tigers in the wild has significantly decreased from 500 in 2005 to fewer than 100 due to habitat loss, agriculture expansion and poaching, the City said.
“Conservation is at the heart of everything we do,” Montisano said. “Through programs like the SSP, we take active steps to safeguard species from extinction and contribute to their survival.”
For more information about the El Paso Zoo, visit their website here.
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