A & E

When most people look at animals in a zoo, what they see are ... well, animals. It is fun to see animals like giraffes, elephants, lions and gorillas up close and personal. But zoos look at the animals in a very different way. For a zoo, many of the animals are like the animals on Noah's ark.

The problem that zoos are trying to solve is extinction. Many of the Earth's animals -- especially some of the biggest and most interesting ones like elephants -- are in the process of going extinct. For example, if you were to look at African elephants in the wild 25 years ago, there were about 2 million of them. Today there are fewer than 600,000. That is a huge drop despite the fact that people are working very hard to prevent it. The Asian elephant faces an even bigger problem. There are only about 40,000 animals left in the wild. The zoos are trying to keep these animals alive.

The way zoos preserve animals is by helping them to breed in captivity. Most zoos and aquariums in the United States belong to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or AZA. The AZA has created a Species Survival Plan. More than 150 species are being bred in zoos. They are genetically diverse populations, so that even if the animals went extinct in the wild, zoos could maintain viable populations in captivity. Different zoos specialize in different species, and then they share their animals with each other.

The AZA has a list of all the animals in all of the zoos. Some are too old to breed, some are too young, but many of the animals are breeding age. The AZA looks at the animals that should be breeding together because of their genetic diversity. You don't want animals that are too closely related breeding with each other because that adds to the potential for genetic diseases. The animals that should be breeding are loaned around among all the zoos as though they are part of one giant herd.

Some animals breed so well in captivity that they actually have to be slowed down. For example, at the North Carolina zoo, all the zebras and all of the ostriches are female to keep them from reproducing. Other animals have been very hard to breed in captivity. The zoos work with the animals that are having problems and try to find better ways to help them breed.

There have been some real successes for the zoos. For example, red wolves had nearly gone extinct. There were only14 unrelated red wolves on the planet. Zoos were able to breed wolves in captivity, back up to a population of 200. Then they released some of the wolves into the wild in North Carolina forests. Whooping cranes worked the same way. They were nearly extinct, and zoos brought them back to life.

Zoos also work very hard at field conservation programs. They try to keep habitat from disappearing. They help people in Africa and other countries set up preserves and parks where the animals can live. It is a huge job, and zoos are taking the lead.

Keeping some of these species alive is not easy. Take elephants, for example. Elephants are especially hard to breed because they need a lot of space and they like to live in large groups. The North Carolina zoo is investing in a 50-acre exhibit called that Watani Grasslands Reserve. The elephants will get 7 acres all to themselves in the exhibit. Eventually there will be a herd of 10 elephants. So the zoo is acquiring four new animals.

First, the zoo goes to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its Species Survival Plan to get recommendations. The AZA knows which animals will be best to breed together. The zoo's curators will visit the animal and make sure it is doing well and will fit in at their zoo. Once everything is set, the move can officially begin.

The first step is permits. State and federal governments have many laws that control exotic animals, and it can take up to a year to get all the permits.

The next step is to find a shipping company. Moving an elephant is not easy. You need specialized trucks to do it. Because of all of the special equipment and handling, it can cost $20,000 to ship a big animal from one zoo to another. Sometimes it takes more than a day just to get the animal on the truck and settled. Then the zoo will set up points along way with vets, repair services, food and so on. A veterinarian may ride with the animal the whole way to make sure nothing goes wrong.

Once the animal arrives, there is more to do. People who worked with the animal at the original zoo will fly in and introduce the animal to the new people and the new place. There is a 45-day quarantine period where people watch the animal's appetite, behavior, how it is communicating, etc., and also look for any sign of disease.

At the North Carolina zoo, the goal is a herd of 10 elephants. There will be three females that the zoo will try to breed. Elephants are pregnant for about two years before the baby is born. Once born, the baby elephants will become part of Species Survival Plan with the AZA, and it will control where they go as they get older.

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