Ostrava/Belfast - On Monday after 11 A.M., two elephant females rolled out of Belfast Zoo, Northern Ireland. 41 year old Johti and her 11 year old daughter, Vishesh, arrive in Ostrava on Thursday.

The younger elephant is expected to be the first Czech elephant mother. "We hope she is going to give birth here," Ostrava zoo director Petr Čolas says.

The birth of a baby elephant would be a breakthrough. Not a single elephant was born in all the history of Czech zoos.

The elephants will make it to the Czech Republic for free due to a European protective programme. Pedigree books accurately register the species raised by humans.

European Association of Zoos' Taxonomic Advisory Group decides which zoo administrates a particular species' book.

Elephants attract visitors

Rotterdam-based pedigree book coordinator's main criterion for recommending an Indian elephant for a particular zoo is a sufficiently dimensioned pavilion.

Ostrava's Elephant Pavilion was constructed in 2003 - 2004 and cost CZK 80 million.

"We have enough capacities, therefore the exchange within the European protective fund can be made," zoo spokesperson Stanislav Durlich says.

The unusual heavy load will travel nearly 2,300 kilometres including a ferry cruise.

From next week on, there will be 17 elephants in Czech zoos, most of them a four member group in Ostrava.

Moreover, Ostrava keepers want their number to increase. "We are looking for a genetically suitable elephant male in European Zoos to use the breeding potential of the younger elephant female that is to be here soon," the director Čolas says.

"Big mammals, especially elephants and giraffes, together with the new pavilions attract most people," Union of Czech and Slovak Zoos president Vladislav T. Jiroušek thinks.

More and more people are visiting Czech zoos, last year their number grew by nearly one million against 2006 and the elephants were among the biggest attractions.

The upgraded pavillion ready to host more elephants | Foto: Aktuálně.cz

Elephant - a demanding roommate

"The preparation period prior to the elephant transfer was very long, the postponements were caused by EU's veterinary measures related to last year's foot-and-mouth disease threat," Derlich explains.

Last week on Sunday, two Ostrava Zoo keepers, Pavel Zvolánek and Daniel Zvolánek with a zoologist set off for Ireland.

They are learning to know each other and the basic instructions and moves. The ex-keeper also has to spend a week in Ostrava zoo.

"What matters is how soon the newcomers get used to the local elephant females, Sussela and Jumbo," he adds.

"Elephants are harder to handle then other species. The keeper has to take on all the previous habits. Each elephant has his own single keeper. And the animal remembers him even after many years," president Jiroušek says.

If the keeper is not careful, a tragedy may occur. "This way, two people died in the Czech Republic tragically. However, it was their failure," he clarifies.