Sundara will be new Queen Mum. Big task with 3 youngsters in the herd.
Chester Zoo Chester Zoo News 2020
- Thread starter FunkyGibbon
- Start date
As I've learnt from past comments, Aayu & Nandita were in the age bracket for the virus, just sadly they just couldn't be saved (just coincidence that Sithami died the same year) all that can be hoped now is that Anjan and Riva survive and become adults.
In relation to the matriarch I would expect Maya as I think she ran things alongside Thai.
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
@Jonfla you forgot to mention that Sundara is an extremely young Matraiach. Due to being so young I hope she can manage the herd.
By rights it really should be Maya as she is much older. But Sundara is the only one with offspring in the group though at around 16 years old she is very young to take on that role, which usually falls to a much older female. However it is hardly a 'herd' at present and Chester could really do with the addition of another couple of adult females too.
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I just read the news and I know it sounds ridiculous, but it feels like such a gut punch. I'm devastated. I can't even begin to imagine how heartbreaking this must be for the staff, she's been there almost 30 years. Just bloody awful.
Sundara has lacked confidence in the past and been affected by past deaths of calves. Maya is a constant, but often seems to distance herself from the antics of the youngsters.
I would have thought difficult to introduce new cows, but interesting times ahead I think for Chester with the new dynamic.
I very much doubt they will bring in any more females as this could upset the herd dynamics. They did bring a female in a few years ago, Birma, but I don't think she integrated into herd in the 2 years she was there so was moved in 2009. I could be wrong but i reckon it will stay as 2:4
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
@Embu you forgot to name Indali as she in addition to Anjan and Riva is still in the age bracket for contracting EEHV. Indali did however survive EEHV so may have built up the Antibodies to fight off a relapse. I wish Antibodies will not be required as I don’t want EEHV to strike again!
I don't expect they will either, with the focus nowadays on zoos maintaining family-related groups. Though if a group is dwindling as Chester's is rather, it should still be possible to add new females from time to time if the need arises. Birma was a failure, though it was never exactly explained why really. I know she had been alone for some while in her previous zoo in France though and apparently it was an integration problem. Maya and Jangoli were both cows that came from other zoos as adults too, and were added to Chester's group successfully in the past, though that was at an earlier stage of the group's formation. But like you I imagine it will just stay as it is, providing there are no new losses.
Looking back over the last 25+ years since the breeding program took off here, there would only be an additional 3 females(4 if you include a stillborn) in the herd currently if they had survived EEHV. The eldest of these would only be 9 years old now so would have not long started breeding herself. The future does now sadly depend on Sundara and her 2 daughters surving.
I didn't forget about Indali I've just highlighted the difference between her & Anjan + Riva. Difference being she caught the virus and survived and as far as we know Anjan + Riva haven't as of yet.
It doesn't sound ridiculous at all. Thanks for sharing your feelings. When we love a zoo and grow attached to the animals, its bound to hit hard when a favourite passes away. Visitors to the zoo and fans of the Hi-Way family - and there are many, all around the world thanks to the TV series - are entitled to feel sad too.
I love that elephant family and just wish their bad fortunes would end, they have been through far too much in the last few years. Life is cruel sometimes even in captivity.
From the Zoo Days programme that aired in 2007 - Birma's main problem was that she wasn't compatible with Upali. There was a clip of him trying to mate her but she wouldn't submit and was aggressive back to him. If they wanted/needed to mix Upali with the cows then Birma had to be separated which obviously defeated the exercise. Note they had no new calves between 2006 and 2010 - this was the reason why. Because they couldn't put Upali in with them because of Birma
Thanks for the explanation Nisha. I don't know if Birma had ever seen a male before Upali. As I'm sure you know, she had previously lived in a smaller Zoo in France where her female companion had died so probably there had not been a bull there previously. It was a pity this happened as Chester had given her a much improved environment obviously.
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They have indeed had far more than their fair share of misfortune. Perhaps a little similar to the situation with London's gorilla group- so much bad news over the years in that also. It just seems to happen sometimes.
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much. It's difficult to explain sometimes, when zoos are your 'thing', just how much of an impact some animals can have.
I really hope that things get easier for the Hi Way family too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that their success with treating Indali might mean that Anjan and Riva have a better chance in the future too.
In the meantime, I have tried to do something positive just to make myself feel a little better, so I have made a small donation to Act For Wildlife in Thi's memory. It's not much, but I know that it needs all the help they can get this year and it feels like a good way to remember her. She leaves a big mark on the herd and on the zoo.
Elephantelephant
Well-Known Member
RIP dear THI.
I didn't expect this bad news, even though I knew she had arthritis, I didn't know it was so bad.RIP dear THI.
So it would appear she suffered from the same ailments as her stablemate Azizah at London/Whipsnade, who was euthanised under similar conditions last year. Azizah’s deterioration was particularly horrific to witness. Clearly whatever logging camp ZSL picked up Thi, Azizah and Geetha (also deceased) had serious welfare issues.