The gardens of Elephant Trek transport guests to Asia
CINCINNATI, OH (September 24, 2024) – Many will go to The Harry and Linda Fath Elephant Trek on the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Backyard, which opens one week from at the moment, to see elephants, however there’s a lot extra to absorb, together with about two dozen kinds of elephant ear vegetation! The Zoo’s horticulture staff has designed and planted one of the vital distinctive gardens within the Midwest. The wonder begins as guests enter Elephant Trek by way of the Komminsk Household Asian Waterfall Backyard and continues all through.
“The thought was to create a forested habitat that adopted the streams to the open grasslands the place the elephants could be grazing by the watering gap,” mentioned Cincinnati Zoo’s director of horticulture Steve Foltz. “As you enter the area you are feeling a heavy presence of tropical vegetation together with giant elephant ears, tropical bananas and Chinese language Fan Palms that are native to Southeast Asia. Combined in with the tropical vegetation are hardy vegetation that look as if they’re tropical.”
Timber that look tropical however are native to the Cincinnati space are a crucial a part of the design plan. Teak bushes are hardwoods native to Southeastern Asia and develop the place the elephants roam. Catalpa look similar to Teak bushes and had been utilized in Elephant Trek to resemble the pure habitat of the Asian Elephants.
“Whereas this looks like a brand new thought, it’s value noting that the identical factor was carried out over 100 years in the past by Cincinnati Zoo director Sol Stephan. These Catalpa nonetheless reside on the Zoo close to the present elephant home throughout from swan lake,” mentioned Foltz.
Different native bushes like Paw Paw and Bigleaf Magnolia resemble Asian counterparts however are domestically and regionally native. Seeds from these bushes had been collected over 3 years in the past and grown on the Zoo’s offsite facility, Bowyer Farm.
“Lemongrass is a local of Southeast Asia that, whereas not hardy, is a part of the elephant/individuals coexistence story,” mentioned Foltz. “There are lots of herbs and vegetation that the elephants least choose. The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, in addition to many herbs we all know from Southeast Asia like chilis, anise, and ginger are all vegetation you’ll discover within the habitat of the Asian Elephant or within the fields of farmers who develop the place elephants roam. It’s type of like planting deer tolerant vegetation for us.”
Cincinnati Zoo helps the Tom Yum Undertaking, a community-based conservation initiative in Thailand that addresses human-elephant battle by supporting farmers to develop pure elephant deterrent crops discovered within the spicy Tom Yum soup. A staff of Coexistence Champions from the Zoo, together with people from the elephant and horticulture departments, is heading to Thailand later this fall to alternate concepts to advertise coexistence.
Enjoyable Information and Stats:
- There are greater than 2 dozen kinds of elephant ear vegetation in Elephant Trek
- There are 3 kinds of elephant ear funnel muffins that will likely be offered in Elephant Trek (cinnamon sugar, oreo, and cookies ‘n cream)
- 90% of the perennials utilized in Elephant Trek had been grown on the Zoo’s personal nurseries, saving the mission hundreds of {dollars}.
- Over 5,000 cubic yards of soil combine (1/3 compost, 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 sand) was used
- The panorama contains 1,000 bamboo vegetation of 6 completely different species.
- A whole lot of bushes, starting from small 10’ bushes to 30’ elm bushes, had been planted in Elephant Trek
- There are over 100 vines together with a mixture of hardy natives and tropical vines
Elephant Trek opens to the general public on October 1. Members are invited to preview the habitat on September 27 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and September 28th and 29th from 9 a.m – 5 p.m. There isn’t any additional payment to enter Elephant Trek, and members can go to as usually as they like. The Zoo is open every day from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Members get pleasure from early entry beginning at 9 a.m.
DID YOU KNOW…. You pay greater than $10 much less per ticket, on choose days, if you buy tickets on-line! That’s a $40 financial savings for a household of 4!
