Credit: Quinn.Anya
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials at the Albuquerque zoo say Rozie the elephant is pregnant, thanks to their in-house artificial insemination program.
BioPark officials say blood tests confirm the 19-year-old Asian elephant is three months pregnant. Average gestation for elephants is 23 months, making her due date sometime in November 2013.
Albuquerque’s BioPark is one of only a few facilities to successfully perform in-house artificial insemination. Semen was collected from Samson, one of the BioPark bull elephants.
It’s the second pregnancy for Rozie, who was born at the Albuquerque zoo in 1992. Her mother, Alice, is also part of the BioPark’s multi-generational herd. Rozie’s first pregnancy went smoothly and her calf Daizy is thriving, weighing more than 3,000 pounds and gaining up to two pounds a day
