site.bta Two Indian Elephants Become Part of Sofia Zoo's Collection

Two Indian elephants are now part of Sofia Zoo's collection, the zoo said on Thursday. The females, named Frosya and Luisa, arrived here on Wednesday evening after two days of travel from Augsburg Zoo, Germany.

A Dutch company specializing in wild animal transportation delivered the elephants in a special heavy duty truck. The animals were unloaded in Sofia Zoo's Giants Hall with a crane.

The elephants will spend a certain adaptation period indoors, which is why Giants Hall will be temporarily closed to visitors. To ease the animals' adaptation to the new environment, their keepers from Augsburg Zoo will remain here for several days.

Frosya and Luisa have an interesting story, Sofia Zoo said. Frosya was born in Vietnam in 1980, and Luisa was born in the wild in India in 1974. After spending years in different zoos, in 1988 the two elephants met for the first time in Tierpark Berlin and have been inseparable since. Due to reconstruction works at the elephant enclosure, in 2020 they were moved to Augsburg Zoo.

Luisa is more dominant and lazy, and prefers to spend more time indoors. Frosya is calmer and enjoys the outdoors and the contact with her keepers. Both love bathing and playing with car tyres.

Sofia Zoo decided to acquire new elephants after its 60-year-old Indian elephant Artayda passed away in late 2021. The zoo has a long-standing tradition of caring for Indian elephants since its establishment 135 years ago, and its logo is a crowned elephant.