KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City Zoo officials say the facility is acquiring a bull African elephant sometime in October.
The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/1RhV7vD) reports that the addition of the elephant, named Tamani, will make a future breeding program possible. Tamani, who will soon be 10 years old, now resides at the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama with three other males, including his father.
In Kansas City, Tamani will join six female African elephants that are past their reproductive years. But zoo officials hope to acquire younger females in the future.
Zoo director Randy Wisthoff says the addition is "really important for elephant conservation" and "keeps Kansas City in the elephant business."
Tamani weighs about 6,000 pounds. Zoo officials say his name means "hope" in Swahili.