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While its breeding efforts have earned it an international reputation, the zoo has also encouraged and actively participated in some groundbreaking elephant research. Discoveries made here have profoundly improved our ability to understand and protect these endangered animals. For instance, in the 1970s, researchers at the zoo learned how to determine the estrus cycle of female elephants, one of the most important keys to understanding elephant breeding. And, while observing the zoo’s elephant herd in 1984, scientist Katherine B. Payne discovered that elephants use infrasonic communication, producing sounds outside the range of human hearing.
In addition to important discoveries like these, the Oregon Zoo has played an important role in implementing the highest possible standards for the care and management of elephants in captivity. Through its AZA affiliation, the zoo has hosted conferences and events such as the first North American Conference on Elephant Foot Care and Pathology, the Annual Elephant Managers Conference, and the fifth International Elephant Research Symposium, which gather elephant experts from across the country and around the globe. The zoo participates in these events to ensure our herd benefits from the most current management practices regarding diet, exercise, enrichment and health care.
After six decades, the Oregon Zoo is now home to six elephants: three cows and three bulls. Four of the elephants were born at the Oregon Zoo, making them a tightly knit family. With the addition of Tusko, a new bull who arrived in 2005, the zoo has again begun breeding among its elephants, adding a new chapter to an already rich history.
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