This is something I regularly think about, so I actually sat down and crunched the numbers a bit, and its honestly shameful just how poorly the US is doing breeding its zoo based elephants. I decided not to include ringling's herd, since they are not, strictly speaking, a zoo based program. Here are some stats:
For wild caught/founding cows, of which there were 20 included in the stats poll, the average age of first reproduction was 17.8 years old, with the youngest cows (3) being 11, and the oldest individual being 28. For captive bred cows, with an abysmally small sample size of 11 cows, the average age of first calf was 13.8 years old, with the youngest being 9.5 and the oldest 20.
In comparison, for Europe, from a count of 45 founding cows, average age at first reproduction was fairly similar to the US, at 16.6 years old, with the oldest being whopping 33 years old, and the youngest a mere six. Now the big difference here, is the captive bred cows. From 46 (over four times more than the US) cows, the average age at first calf was 11.4 years old, with the oldest being 22, and the youngest only 5 and a half years old.
While this list is not entirely inclusive, all animals that have contributed to the current breeding population are included, for both Europe and the US.
Now we can see, one of the biggest issues here isn't so much the age at first calf, but purely how many calves are actually being produced. While Europe has over double the founder size, that is not excuse, as if the same logical was followed, the US should have at least 20 US born breeding females, as opposed to a pitifully small 11.
Right now, the entirety of the US zoo based population is hinged on the backs of the following cows, organised into groups:
Founding cows, all 30+ years old:
Tess at Houston, 4 calves, 3 still living
Ellie at St Louis, 3 calves, all still living!
Rasha at Fort Worth, at least 3 calves, 2 still living
First or second generation cows who are now producing virtually all of the calves in the US, aged between 20 and 31 years old:
Rose-Tu at Oregon, 24 years old, two calves, both living
Shanti at Houston, 28 years old, 5 calves, 3 living
Bluebonnet at Fort Worth, 20 years old, 1 calf, still living
Rozana at ABQ Biopark, 26 years old, 3 calves, 2 still living
Asha at Oklahoma, 23 years old, 3 calves, 2 still living
Rani at St Louis,22 years old, 2 calves, 1 still living
Phoebe at Columbus, 31 years old, 3 calves, all three still alive!
Maharani at the Smithsonian, 28 years old, 2 calves and a set of twins, none living
Karina at Rosamond Gifford, 23 years old, 1 calf, none living
Mali at Rosamond Gifford, 21 years old, two calves, both still living
Then we have the "these girls need to get breeding", these being cows 10+ years old, without yet bearing a calf:
Jade and Mahlia at St Louis
Rudy and Sundara at Columbus
Asha at Tulsa
Chandra at Oklahoma
And finally, the next generation, these are all cows under the age of ten, who are critical to the long term success of the US population:
Lily at Oregon
Tupelo, Joy, and Tilly at Houston
Belle at Fort Worth
Achara and Kairavi at Oklahoma
Jazmine at ABQ Biopark
Priya at St Louis
I think herein lies the biggest issue. The states simply aren't producing enough calves. There are effectively only 11 cows (Rasha and Ellie are both 40+ and, while the may have one calf each left in them, its doubtful) who can actually contribute to the population, and calving rates are abysmal. The most prolific cows are Tess, Ellie and Shanti, who all have three living calves each. This low calving interval, combined with the leering risk of EEHV (which has stolen three INCREDIBLY valuable young cows in recent years, Daizy at ABQ, Malee at OKC, and Kenzi at St.Louis), sets things up for a bleak future if facilities don't step up. Holders need to get cows calving earlier, and decrease their inter-calf interval if there is any hope to have any sort of a sizable population 20 years from now. In comparison, in Europe, which has reached self sustaining breeding levels, many cows are hitting 3 calves by their early 20's, and 6+ calves over their reproductive lifespans. I can count on one hand the number of cows that even come close to that in North America right now.
Also as an aside, I calculated for Canadian Elephants as well. I will include them here, as some have already entered the US, and more are likely to in the future as well. From 6 captive bred cows who had their first births in Canada, the average age was a pleasant 10.8 years old! For wild caught cows, there are only two that have had their first births in Canada, at radically different ages, 11 for Kamala at Calgary and 31 for Kitty at African Lion Safari.
The Canadian breeding population currently consists of all captive bred (and mainly Canadian born) cows, at a single facility.
Current Breeders:
Lily, 33 years old, 5 calves, 1 grand-calf, 4 calves still living
Natasha, 24 years old, 4 calves, two grand-calves, all living
Opal, 13 years old, 2 calves, both living
Emily, 12 years old, 1 calf, still living
The Next Generation:
Nellie, 5 years old
Hannah, 4 years old
Gigi and Anna May, both 3 years old
Rose, just over 2 and half years old
Luna, 2 months old
For wild caught/founding cows, of which there were 20 included in the stats poll, the average age of first reproduction was 17.8 years old, with the youngest cows (3) being 11, and the oldest individual being 28. For captive bred cows, with an abysmally small sample size of 11 cows, the average age of first calf was 13.8 years old, with the youngest being 9.5 and the oldest 20.
In comparison, for Europe, from a count of 45 founding cows, average age at first reproduction was fairly similar to the US, at 16.6 years old, with the oldest being whopping 33 years old, and the youngest a mere six. Now the big difference here, is the captive bred cows. From 46 (over four times more than the US) cows, the average age at first calf was 11.4 years old, with the oldest being 22, and the youngest only 5 and a half years old.
While this list is not entirely inclusive, all animals that have contributed to the current breeding population are included, for both Europe and the US.
Now we can see, one of the biggest issues here isn't so much the age at first calf, but purely how many calves are actually being produced. While Europe has over double the founder size, that is not excuse, as if the same logical was followed, the US should have at least 20 US born breeding females, as opposed to a pitifully small 11.
Right now, the entirety of the US zoo based population is hinged on the backs of the following cows, organised into groups:
Founding cows, all 30+ years old:
Tess at Houston, 4 calves, 3 still living
Ellie at St Louis, 3 calves, all still living!
Rasha at Fort Worth, at least 3 calves, 2 still living
First or second generation cows who are now producing virtually all of the calves in the US, aged between 20 and 31 years old:
Rose-Tu at Oregon, 24 years old, two calves, both living
Shanti at Houston, 28 years old, 5 calves, 3 living
Bluebonnet at Fort Worth, 20 years old, 1 calf, still living
Rozana at ABQ Biopark, 26 years old, 3 calves, 2 still living
Asha at Oklahoma, 23 years old, 3 calves, 2 still living
Rani at St Louis,22 years old, 2 calves, 1 still living
Phoebe at Columbus, 31 years old, 3 calves, all three still alive!
Maharani at the Smithsonian, 28 years old, 2 calves and a set of twins, none living
Karina at Rosamond Gifford, 23 years old, 1 calf, none living
Mali at Rosamond Gifford, 21 years old, two calves, both still living
Then we have the "these girls need to get breeding", these being cows 10+ years old, without yet bearing a calf:
Jade and Mahlia at St Louis
Rudy and Sundara at Columbus
Asha at Tulsa
Chandra at Oklahoma
And finally, the next generation, these are all cows under the age of ten, who are critical to the long term success of the US population:
Lily at Oregon
Tupelo, Joy, and Tilly at Houston
Belle at Fort Worth
Achara and Kairavi at Oklahoma
Jazmine at ABQ Biopark
Priya at St Louis
I think herein lies the biggest issue. The states simply aren't producing enough calves. There are effectively only 11 cows (Rasha and Ellie are both 40+ and, while the may have one calf each left in them, its doubtful) who can actually contribute to the population, and calving rates are abysmal. The most prolific cows are Tess, Ellie and Shanti, who all have three living calves each. This low calving interval, combined with the leering risk of EEHV (which has stolen three INCREDIBLY valuable young cows in recent years, Daizy at ABQ, Malee at OKC, and Kenzi at St.Louis), sets things up for a bleak future if facilities don't step up. Holders need to get cows calving earlier, and decrease their inter-calf interval if there is any hope to have any sort of a sizable population 20 years from now. In comparison, in Europe, which has reached self sustaining breeding levels, many cows are hitting 3 calves by their early 20's, and 6+ calves over their reproductive lifespans. I can count on one hand the number of cows that even come close to that in North America right now.
Also as an aside, I calculated for Canadian Elephants as well. I will include them here, as some have already entered the US, and more are likely to in the future as well. From 6 captive bred cows who had their first births in Canada, the average age was a pleasant 10.8 years old! For wild caught cows, there are only two that have had their first births in Canada, at radically different ages, 11 for Kamala at Calgary and 31 for Kitty at African Lion Safari.
The Canadian breeding population currently consists of all captive bred (and mainly Canadian born) cows, at a single facility.
Current Breeders:
Lily, 33 years old, 5 calves, 1 grand-calf, 4 calves still living
Natasha, 24 years old, 4 calves, two grand-calves, all living
Opal, 13 years old, 2 calves, both living
Emily, 12 years old, 1 calf, still living
The Next Generation:
Nellie, 5 years old
Hannah, 4 years old
Gigi and Anna May, both 3 years old
Rose, just over 2 and half years old
Luna, 2 months old
