Looking out at the herd of Oregon Zoo elephants, it’s easy to spot Chendra. With her petite stature, short trunk, larger ears and long tail, the Bornean elephant is markedly smaller than the rest. She’s also the only one of her kind on the entire North American continent.

Chendra, an elephant from northern Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah, arrived at the Oregon Zoo in 1999 and has remained in its care ever since.

Sharon Glaeser, who has a doctorate in animal welfare and conservation science, works as the elephant conservation lead for the Oregon Zoo. She recently appeared on OPB’s “Think Out Loud” to share more about why one of the world’s smallest elephants ended up in Portland.

“The Oregon Zoo Elephant Program was known around the world, and the Sabah Wildlife Department needed to find homes for some of the babies that had been orphaned,” Glaeser said in the interview. “They didn’t have facilities and they contacted the Oregon Zoo.”

Many Asian elephants are already under serious threat of extinction in their native countries and those in Borneo are especially at risk. Approximately 1,000 Bornean elephants are left in the world, and that number is decreasing, Glaeser noted.

“In our human care, they have their needs met,” Glaeser said. “They get food, they get resources, they have opportunities, they have safety, they have veterinary care, which is not something that wild animals are afforded in general.”

According to the World Wildlife Fund, Bornean elephants are the smallest Asian elephant subspecies and are distinctly smaller than their mainland Asia cousins.

They were determined by WWF to be genetically different from other Asian elephants — DNA evidence shows Bornean elephants were isolated from their cousins on mainland Asia and Sumatra, Indonesia, about 300,000 years ago. As a result, Bornean elephants evolved to have longer tails that sometimes touch the ground, as well as relatively large ears and straighter tusks when compared to other elephant subspecies.

These island-dwelling elephants are known to roam large distances, sometimes covering up to 25 miles in a day, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Deforestation due to logging and palm oil production causes loss of habitat, the Oregon Zoo website says, which is the primary reason Bornean elephants are under threat. Plus, agricultural workers sometimes kill or injure elephants that raid their plantations and those actions can separate young elephants from their herds.

“In the past few years, the Sabah Wildlife Department has rescued 15 baby elephants, each less than a year old,” the zoo says. “All of them were found wandering alone in known human-elephant conflict areas along the east coast of Sabah. Chendra was orphaned this way.”

When Chendra was found, she had injuries to her front legs and left eye, and eventually became blind in that eye, according to the zoo. Since she was so young, the Sabah Wildlife Department couldn’t reunite Chendra with her herd or release her back into the wild, and instead opted to send her to the Oregon Zoo on Nov. 20, 1999.

The zoo currently funds two full-time elephant ranger positions with the Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit and partners with the unit on several projects to create wildlife corridor habitat and reduce human-elephant conflict.

In 2020, the Oregon Zoo became part of the Bornean Elephant Action Plan, a 10-year-long project led by the Sabah Wildlife Department that is aimed at identifying threats and building strategies to address threats to endangered species. Among the species at risk are elephants, pangolin, sun bears, banteng, orangutans and more.

While the Oregon Zoo is well-known for its elephant program, it is not without criticism. Animal rights group Free the Oregon Zoo Elephants, or FOZE, has for years alleged the Oregon Zoo has an “aggressive elephant breeding program” and mistreats elephants, including Chendra. The zoo has denied these claims.

Congratulations to Tillamook’s Jakoby Goss for being voted SBLive/SI Oregon High School Baseball Athlete of the Week for the week of April 28-May 4.

Goss, a junior on the Tillamook team, threw a one-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking none, and went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs for the Cheesemakers in a 5-0 win at St. Helens in a Cowapa League game.

Goss received 52.14% of the vote, beating out Mark Carpenter, a senior on the Henley team, who finished second with 33.09%. Amari Reynolds, a sophomore on the Barlow team, was third with 13.04%, and Lance McKey, a senior on the Central Catholic team, was fourth with 0.73%. There were more than 1,000 votes tallied last week.

We are accepting Oregon Athlete of the Week nominations. If you would like to nominate an athlete, email danbrood91@gmail.com. 

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

The Oregon Ducks have missed out on some big recruits from the class of 2026, but their luck turned around with a commitment from five-star defensive lineman Richard Wesley. With the commitment from Wesley, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks are back in the top-five in On3’s class of 2026 recruiting rankings.

The Oregon Ducks have now reached eight commitments, which feature two five-star recruits and four four-stars. Per On3, the Ducks rank No. 5 in the Nation and No. 3 in the Big Ten. The two schools in the conference that remain higher than Lanning and the Ducks are the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 1 USC Trojans.

The move to No. 5 in the country was up three spots from where the team previously was. Oregon jumped Georgia, Alabama, and Texas A&M in the team rankings. Oregon now sits behind No. 1 USC, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Ohio State, and No. 4 Notre Dame.

Per the On3 Industry Rankings, Wesley is the No. 25 recruit in the country, the No. 4 edge, and the No. 6 player from California. After a recruiting drought for the Ducks, this was a crucial pickup and could turn the momentum back in Oregon’s favor.

Wesley visited Oregon for the spring game and it was what pushed Oregon up on his list, leading to the commitment. Leading up to his commitment, Wesley talked to 247Sports about what stands out about Oregon.

“Watching their spring game, I finally watched the work they’ve been putting in,” Wesley said. “It was really great seeing it translate on the field. Some players had a big game — all the defensive ends were eating. It was great to see my position group scale up.”

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“Oregon recruits me harder than everybody else. They always preach that they’ve got coach Lanning. …. They have let me know the Oregon track record. They don’t have to say much; the proof is out with them defensively,” Wesley said.

Oregon is recruiting an elite group of players across the defensive line. The Ducks are now up to three defensive linemen from the class of 2026.

Wesley joins four-star defensive lineman Tony Cumberland who committed in 2023. Cumberland is the No. 1 recruit from Arizona and the No. 8 defensive lineman, per On3. The Trojans have also landed a commitment from three-star defensive lineman Viliami Moala. Moala is an in-state recruit, the No. 3 player from Oregon. 

Aside from the defensive line, four-star linebacker Tristan Phillips committed to Oregon on Dec. 7. Phillips is the No. 13 linebacker in the class and the No. 21 recruit from California. Four-star safety Xavier Lherisse committed on Feb. 26 as the No. 34 safety and the No. 49 recruit from Florida. 

In addition to Wesley, tight end Kendre Harrison is the other five-star commitment. Harrison is the No. 1 tight end, the No. 3 player from North Carolina, and the No. 21 overall recruit regardless of position. The only other offensive player Oregon has recruited is four-star running back Tradarian Ball. Ball is the No. 59 recruit in the Nation, the No. 5 running back, and then No. 9 player from Texas. 

While the Oregon Ducks have missed out on major recruits like five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, a commitment from Wesley and boosted the program back up the recruiting rankings. Wesley could be the start of the recruiting momentum Lanning and the Ducks needed.