Yes, Osh is spending his first days in California eating snacks and enjoying the Bay Area spring sun or resting in the shade.

Yes, he is better traveled than most of us. The 9-year-old elephant was conceived in captivity in India, raised in the United Kingdom and just spent part of last week traveling across the English Channel, through France and Belgium, to the Netherlands, where he was put up at the Animal Hotel at the airport.

That's right, an animal hotel.

He then flew first class in a 747 jet to Los Angeles, where he embarked on a road trip to Oakland. The journey took 54 hours.

Osh represents the next generation of captive breeding elephants in the United States, and the future of the Oakland Zoo's African elephant breeding program.

"It is not just a matter of bringing an elephant from England. It's much more important than that," zoo director Joel Parrott said Wednesday as he announced Osh's arrival. "The importance of Osh is something I cannot overstate."

Osh replaces the zoo's former African elephant bull, Smokey, who died of chronic wasting disease three years ago. He was considered one of the most important breeding bulls in the United States before his death.

African elephants are the more volatile of two common breeds of elephants, African and Asian. Few U.S. zoos house African elephants because of this, and even fewer want or have room for male African elephants, which are notoriously hard to control.

And compared to Asian elephants, African elephants are hard to breed in captivity even though some progress has been made in recent years.

When Smokey died after siring three baby elephants -- all of which died, the latest in 2001 after his mother Lisa attacked him -- the zoo's breeding program all but died with him. They looked everywhere for a bull replacement, contacting every zoo with a male African elephant in North America at least once and chatting with zoos in Russia and India. They found a match this year.

"Osh replaces a very dear friend of ours," Parrott said.

Osh is small and playful compared to the other elephants at the zoo, and had to leave his herd at Howlett's Wild Animal Park near Cantebury, Kent in the U.K.

"When they get to this age and this size, the older females give him a hard time," Dave Magner, head elephant keeper at Howlett's said.

As a preteen elephant, Osh still wanted to play with the younger calves in the 16-member herd at Howlett's. He's bigger than them and rough, prompting the mothers of the calves to ostracize and threaten him.

In the wild, younger male elephants travel in bachelor herds away from their mothers. Older males travel alone.

"This is a natural thing to happen. It is not a case of splitting him up from his herd just for the sake of it," Magner said. Howlett's donated the animal to the zoo.

Magner watched Osh's birth and has raised him for nine years. He said he is attached to the 5,675-pound creature and will stay in Oakland until Osh is comfortable with his new surroundings. "This is a lovely place for him to come and he has three young females to get on with," Magner said.

The Oakland Zoo will continue to try to breed a new generation of captive African elephants once Osh hits puberty, in three to five years. He will mate with three elephants at the zoo -- Lisa, 27, M'Dundamella, 35, and Donna, 25. Elephants can live to be 70 years old.

The USDA requires Osh be in a 90-day quarantine before being put on display. Osh will be introduced to the other elephants after that period. Zoo officials are optimistic Osh will be accepted by the zoo's herd.

The Oakland Zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Road. Tickets are $8.50 for adults and $5 for children. Parking is $4. Call (510) 632-9525 for more information.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
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