Denver Zoo’s first male elephant for its new exhibit will be arriving by the end of the year.

Bodhi, a 7-year-old Asian elephant, is coming from Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He will join Mimi and Dolly, the current female elephants in Denver, at the zoo’s new Asian Tropics exhibit. The 10-acre exhibit, slated to open in the spring of 2012, has the potential to play a role in the Asian elephant species survival plan, Denver Zoo said in a news release.

The exhibit will have the capacity to accommodate eight male elephants — more than any other other zoo habitat in the country. The habitat was designed with expanded breeding capabilities in mind.

“With less than 35,000 Asian elephants in the world, Denver Zoo is supporting conservation efforts in the wild and building assurance populations in zoos to fight extinction,” exhibit curator Dale Leeds said in a statement.

The $50 million Asian Tropics exhibit will also house rhinos, flying foxes, tapirs, fishing cats, small clawed otters, and potentially other Asian species.

Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638 or kpainter@denverpost.com