An elephant in Washington state has been having trouble finding a group to fit in with.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma plans to return Bamboo to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said. Bamboo, a 39-year-old Asian elephant, was shipped to Tacoma because she was not getting along with another elephant in Seattle, but the two Asian elephants at Point Defiance did not welcome her either.
John Houck, the Point Defiance deputy director, said that Bamboo's problems there have only been with other elephants.
"She is a good-natured elephant and is doing well interacting with the staff," he said. "On the other hand, her interactions with the other two elephants are not at all what we had hoped for. They have rejected each other."
Bamboo's long-term future remains uncertain. Animal-rights groups have been pressuring the Seattle zoo to send her to a sanctuary in Tennessee, something officials say is not in the cards.
She was originally moved to Tacoma because another elephant gave birth and keepers discovered Bamboo has no liking for very young elephants. Woodland Park officials say she could go to another zoo if a suitable placement appears.