TOKYO, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A zoo in Japan's western city of Hiroshima said Wednesday that it had confirmed the country's first case of a pregnancy of an African forest elephant, a species threatened with extinction, local media reported.
According to the Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, African forest elephants, classified as "critically endangered" on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, are very rare in the wild and there are only three in captivity worldwide, Kyodo News reported.
The pregnancy was confirmed via ultrasonic echography on Aug. 14. The zoo will continue to monitor the expectant mother's health through blood tests and other measures until she gives birth, the report said.
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 report said.
The elephant, which came to the Hiroshima zoo in 2001 from Burkina Faso, is estimated to be 25 years old. In 2022, the zoo partnered her with a male elephant on loan from another Japanese zoo and had been working toward a successful conception. ■
