Chester Zoo Chester elephants

Upali

Upali

Well-Known Member
Thought i'd start a thread for any updates and information about the elephants!

Is there any new animals or confirmed pregnancies, as theres been rumors for a while. Also i was wondering about the future of Tunga, hes 4 now and the last bull calves Po Chin and Assam were moved to Belgium at this age so will Tunga be staying on for a few years (hopefully!)
 
Upali said:
Thought i'd start a thread for any updates and information about the elephants!
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Good idea, there hasn't been any news or discussion about them for several months. Last I heard they weren't going to breed from any again till next year but the precise facts seem hard to obtain sometimes.
 
Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but they are looking for a new home for Birma, as she hasn't integrated into the main herd despite all efforts over the last 3 years.
 
Bit of a surprise this. When I went last year she was with Sheba and then later they were out with the others- it all looked fine to me....;)
 
Very surprised by this, could it be more down to the fact that she hasn't bred? and therefore would prefer to keep breeding females and with birma gone they have a bit more room for calfs.

Shame if chester are getting rid of her, I usually see her with other elephants happily eating together :confused:
 
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Thats a shock!! Such bad news. I hope they're not getting rid of her for not breeding or i'd any respect for the place. Its suprising last time i was there she was sleeping with the main herd (except Sheba) and was playing abit with Raman.

I suppose Chesters herd is a long established and close-knit but they'll have a hard time finding a home for her with it being dangerous too breed from her and with a poor social.
 
I believe it's because Birma doesn't get on with Upali that she's being moved. The head elephant keeper was showing some guests round when we were in the elephant house, and I overheard him explaining about her. I didn't catch everything he said, but maybe at breeding time it's too stressful for the herd to have to separate various elephants.

On a brighter note, I also heard him say that Sheba's the highest weight she's been for 5 years, and that her feet and muscles are in excellent condition :D
 
Maisie said:
I believe it's because Birma doesn't get on with Upali that she's being moved. The head elephant keeper was showing some guests round when we were in the elephant house, and I overheard him explaining about her. I didn't catch everything he said, but maybe at breeding time it's too stressful for the herd to have to separate various elephants.

On a brighter note, I also heard him say that Sheba's the highest weight she's been for 5 years, and that her feet and muscles are in excellent condition :D
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Thats good news about Sheba. I will be disappointed if they are shipping her out because of Upali and her not getting on.
 
Don`t we have a number of zoochat members who visit Chester Zoo regularly and could ask the keepers? I would really like to know more on this. Thanks in advance!!
 
Yassa said:
Don`t we have a number of zoochat members who visit Chester Zoo regularly and could ask the keepers? I would really like to know more on this. Thanks in advance!!
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Will try to find out on Sunday when i visit but the problem is you don`t see the keepers as much in the new house to speak to as much as you did in the old one.
 
zoogiraffe said:
Will try to find out on Sunday when i visit but the problem is you don`t see the keepers as much in the new house to speak to as much as you did in the old one.
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We find that the 'captive' presenter in the bats is an excellent source of information about all animals. Alternatively there's a much better chance of finding keepers in the Elephant house later in the day. :)
 
Why not move Upali as he's already bred with Thi and doesn't seem to get on too well with any of the females? As Birma is now integrated with the rest of the herd won't she be unsettled if she has to move on again?
 
Woodbine said:
Why not move Upali as he's already bred with Thi and doesn't seem to get on too well with any of the females? As Birma is now integrated with the rest of the herd won't she be unsettled if she has to move on again?
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Upali was bought by chester and as they have a few females he is yet to breed with they will wont to keep on to him for a few more years yet.
 
We visited Chester Zoo today. Most of the elephants were at the far end of the enclosure, away from the noise of the merry-go-round, but we had a great surprise when Sithami, Tunga, Sundara and Raman came charging towards us to play in the mud! We watched them climbing on top of each other and squirting themselves with mud for about 20 minutes!
 
Maisie said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but they are looking for a new home for Birma, as she hasn't integrated into the main herd despite all efforts over the last 3 years.
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Birma is going to France later this year, to join a large herd where it is hoped she will produce young.

Jangoli is believed to be pregnant but it has not been confirmed yet.
 
bongorob said:
Birma is going to France later this year, to join a large herd where it is hoped she will produce young.
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Why does it feel that that is not the real story? I hope she does settle in france and is not shipped of somewhere else after that.
 
bongorob said:
Birma is going to France later this year, to join a large herd where it is hoped she will produce young.
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mmmm....:confused: Back to France for Birma then. But she may not integrate any better in another herd than she has at Chester?
 
Actually, I believed she HAD integrated well into Chester`s herd? She is great friends with Sheba at least. Does anyone has any details why they want to ship her away? Thanks!
 
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