“There are fewer then 35,000 Asian elephants remaining in the world and these magnificent animals are struggling to survive so each elephant born at Ringling Bros. is a celebratory step toward the preservation of the species,” says Kenneth Feld, Founder of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation. “Since 1992, 21 elephants have been born into Ringling Bros. care and that is a lifetime commitment that we take very seriously.”

A team of veterinarians and elephant husbandry specialists will watch over and care for Sundara as she grows and develops. The goal of the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation is to focus on the research, reproduction and retirement of Asian elephants. Since the program’s inception, it has seen unparalleled breeding success and remains one of many key components in Ringling Bros. conservation efforts. Proper care and management of the endangered Asian elephant species is vital to their survival. As a leader in captive elephant husbandry, the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation continues to expand its global preservation initiatives.

This year, due to the increasing domestic Asian elephant population in the country of Sri Lanka and the declining pool of skilled elephant handlers to care for the elephants, the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation has partnered with the University of Peradeniya in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The pilot partnership is comprised of four students enrolled in a Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) program in Captive Elephant Management at the University. The pilot consists of a 12-month program based out of the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation where the students will implement a university-approved research project on Asian elephants with time spent learning elephant husbandry practices and handling techniques.

“The objective is to train the University students while developing a national curriculum for elephant husbandry and management techniques based on Ringling Bros. practices,” says Bruce Read, Vice President, Animal Stewardship, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. “By connecting the high standards of elephant husbandry applied by Ringling Bros. with traditional methods and the needs of the growing number of domestic elephants in Sri Lanka, together we can help the future of this endangered species.”

Another significant component in Ringling Bros. conservation program is the establishment of the annual international conference on tuberculosis in elephants. The conference brings together experts in human and animal medicine, including veterinarians, geneticists and animal management specialists to discuss the current state of tuberculosis research for elephants. The participants met again this fall with project updates at the 2008 Elephant Managers Association Conference hosted by Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation.

Since 2005, Ringling Bros. other collaborative conservation initiatives include funding more than $300,000 toward the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo’s research projects on a reproductive study aimed at increasing the captive Asian elephant population and on endotheliotropic herpes viruses, the single greatest health threat to the Asian elephant. Only four known elephants have survived the disease, one of which is currently residing at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation.