Hiroshima zoo confirms endangered elephant's pregnancy, 1st in Japan

A zoo in Hiroshima said Wednesday it had confirmed Japan's first case of a pregnancy of an African forest elephant, a species threatened with extinction.

According to the Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, African forest elephants are very rare in the wild and there are only three in captivity worldwide. It is classified as "critically endangered" on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

As an elephant's gestation period is usually 20 to 22 months, she is expected to give birth sometime between August and October next year, the zoo said.

The elephant, which came to the zoo in 2001 from Burkina Faso, is estimated to be 25 years old.

In 2022, the Hiroshima Zoo partnered her with a male elephant on loan from another Japanese zoo and had been working toward a successful conception.

The pregnancy was confirmed via ultrasonic echography on Aug. 14. The zoo said it would continue to monitor the expectant mother's health through blood tests and other measures until she gives birth.