Elephant Center shifts north to Fellsmere from St. Lucie County

September 7, 2011

FELLSMERE, FL — Plans for a National Elephant Center on the Treasure Coast are back, although the location has changed.

The group looking to house elephants now plans to locate in Fellsmere instead of western St. Lucie County.

After squabbles with St. Lucie County commissioners over restrictions, the organization is expected to apply for permits on Thursday on 225 acres in northern Fellsmere, currently an unused private citrus grove surrounded by farmland near the Brevard County line. The project's first phase is expected to cost the elephant organizationabout $2.5 million.

"I think this is going to be a terrific thing for the community, as well as the elephants," said Rick Barongi, the chairman of The National Elephant Center and director of the Houston Zoo. The National Elephant Center is a collaborative effort with the support of 73 zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Barongi said he hopes to begin construction later this year with a goal of opening sometime in 2012. The center could eventually house dozens of elephants, but likely will be home to fewer than 10 during the first few years. Unlike with the land in St. Lucie County, the Fellsmere project would not affect wetlands and already is zoned to allow the elephants. So staff can approve the project without a city council vote.

The center will not be open to the public, but local school groups may be able to visit on specific occasions as part of an educational program. The center could have a mix of retired elephants and elephants transitioning from zoo to zoo.

The decision for Fellsmere comes 18 months after the National Elephant Center received approval from St. Lucie County commissioners for a $4 million, 326-acre area along the Okeechobee County border.

No county money was planned for the project. But when the arrangement was brought back to the center's board, members weren't happy with restrictions their representatives agreed to at the January 2010 meeting, and decided to look elsewhere.

Barongi said the center is appreciative of the work St. Lucie County did, but decided to go elsewhere.

Some of those restrictions included limiting the number of elephants on the site, oversight for the center, and eliminating bull hooks from use at the site. Bull hooks resemble fireplace pokers and are used to train and direct the animals.

Animal rights activists had lobbied that the bull hook be forbidden and called it barbaric while some representatives from the National Elephant Center said the tool is humane and necessary in some situations.

Barongi said all of the concerns have been addressed for the Fellsmere site. The center is initially expected to support four jobs, but the biggest initial impact will be for construction.

"The community has embraced us," Barongi said. "We're very confident and excited about it."

The first phase is for 25 acres and includes a large barn with attached paddocks, a keeper work center and four interconnected pastures ranging from 4 to 5 acres each. Each pasture has ponds, mud wallows, dust bathing areas and shade, among other features.

Barongi said the center has had several meetings with city staff and elected officials and answered all of their questions.

"We think it's a win-win for everybody," Barongi said.

Mayor Susan Adams said that by having the elephant center, Fellsmere can preserve the land as agricultural. The center is expected to have little impact on the acreage.

"I think it's great," Adams said. "We're very excited to have something of this caliber coming to Fellsmere."