You’ve probably heard that The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will welcome three more African elephants to its grounds this year. Petal, Kallie and Bette will come to us from the Philadelphia Zoo. They will join Dolly and Anna, who’ve been long-time favorites of our guests. At the same time, we are beginning an exciting expansion of our elephant exhibit. It will eventually grow to six acres and include a number of features designed to give our elephants even more variety and stimulation in their daily lives.

Not only will the elephants benefit from this larger exhibit, but having a bigger herd will allow for more interaction among these incredibly social animals. There are positives for people, too. For one thing, being able to see elephants up close will allow our guests to forge a connection with them that cannot happen from watching them on television or in movies. Seeing elephants in real life helps to promote elephant conservation, according to a 2005 national public opinion poll conducted by Harris Interactive.

The poll found that 95 percent of Americans believe seeing elephants in real life fosters a greater appreciation of these majestic animals. Getting our guests interested in elephants and the problems they face in the wild may spur people to do something about wildlife conservation. Every time that happens, it means we are doing our job, for the Zoo’s mission is to inspire and educate people to join with it in the active support and conservation of wildlife and wild places.

Having a first-rate elephant program here in Baltimore also means members of our community won’t have to travel far to see and experience these animals. Most people cannot afford to travel to Africa to see the elephants there, and the Pittsburgh Zoo and the Virginia Zoo, the closest facilities with African elephants, are several hours away.

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This expansion will enable us to commit to a serious breeding program. Elephants need help from humans to survive. The vast majority of the North American population of African elephants will be beyond reproductive age in 20 years unless more breeding programs are developed. Even in Africa, where only 600,000 elephants remain, humans continue to crowd them out of their natural ranges, and they can rarely be seen outside national parks.

Very few of our guests come away unmoved after staring into the eyes of one of the Zoo’s three infant chimpanzees when they come up to their exhibit windows. In the same way, when people see our elephants, they can appreciate how important it is to ensure the long-term viability of the world’s dwindling elephant population.

I hope that you will visit us when Petal, Kallie and Bette arrive from Philadelphia later this year, but I do also hope we will see you before then. Admission will be free for everyone the weekend of March 3 and 4, when the Zoo reopens after our two-month-long winter break. I invite you to come see for yourself why it’s so important for all of us to take action to protect not only the elephants, but all threatened and endangered animals as well.

Billie Grieb is President & CEO of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.