PORTLAND — The pregnancy of a 26-year-old elephant known as Chendra at the Oregon Zoo has ended in miscarriage.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports veterinarians at the zoo grew concerned earlier this month when they noticed a drop in some of the Asian elephant’s reproductive hormones. Last week, more definitive tests showed that she was no longer pregnant, says Bob Lee, who oversees the elephant program at the zoo.
Chendra was around eight months along, which would correspond to the first trimester in humans.
The gestation period for elephants is around 22 months. Chendra came to Oregon in 1999. She was found as a young calf wandering alone near a palm oil plantation in Borneo.
Twenty-five elephants have been born at the Oregon Zoo since 1962.
