LOS ANGELES, May 8 A California elephant sanctuary says the Los Angeles Zoo's aging African elephant, Ruby, will arrive at the sanctuary for her retirement next week.
Derby, co-founder and co-director of PAWS sanctuary, which operates a number of animal sanctuaries in California, said the 46-year-old pachyderm is scheduled to arrive at the San Andreas preserve next week, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Ruby will be sharing the 75-acre space with three other female African elephants, her first company of the same species since the Los Angeles Zoo's female Asian elephant, Gita, died last summer.
Derby said Ruby will be slowly and carefully introduced to her new surroundings and new companions.
"She's going to have visual contact and she'll be allowed to touch them," Derby said, "but it will be behind a barrier so she can retreat if she feels threatened or doesn ' t want to be with them yet. "Elephants, particularly Africans, are tricky to get introduced and socialized," he said.
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