Elephantelephant
Well-Known Member
Wow! That's good news. At least some effort should be appreciated. Now let's just hope that the AI was successful and that Tusker arrives as soon as possible.
African Elephants In Europe 2022
- Thread starter Hyak_II
- Start date
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
Are there any plans to expand the heard at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm (Elephant Eden) with further males? Elephant Eden is a massive facility in fact the largest in Europe. It seems a waste for the enclosure to only house a couple of Elephants.
Mr.Ivory
Well-Known Member
Although Elephant Eden is indeed massive but it's not the largest facility in Europe, that title would have to go to Cabárceno, and another massive facility is Knuthenborg. Possible bulls that can arrive are Sutton, Impy, and Mchumba.
I am pretty sure they will want to make sure the elephants are compatible too as one got killed by another bull recently. No idea what happened. Just by the news. Unfortunate.
That's very unfortunate but I doubt it'll decrease the chances of them obtaining another bull. They would've learnt from it, to not keep two breeding bulls together overnight. Especially when it was likely that at the time, one or more of the females were in oestrus.
I don’t think they are breeding bulls? Juveniles maybe? Correct me if I am wrong.
and that zoo has no females.
Yes, sorry, I confused the facility.
The bull in question was Mchanga (12), so they he was pretty much an adult. He lived with another two bulls one of which was older, and the other slightly younger. Not sure which one actually killed him, the zoo has never publicised it.
Indeed, like ZCChip said, Noah's Ark only houses bulls. And even then, neither had a history of breeding, the killer was only 16, and the victim was 13.
The backstory is interesting, as the aggressor, Janu, had a prior history of something similar, he attacked his half brother when he was 7 years old, which resulted in enough damage to warrant euthanizing him. Truly a shame for M'changa, but at the same time, they did live together for several years without issue.
Yes, I confused the facilities.
So it was Janu! He had lived with Mchanga years without issue, so it'll be interesting to know what sparked the attack in the end.
I'm not aware of the exact housing arrangements at Noah's Ark, but importing future bulls thus may be on hold in the meantime. Janu comes from a fairly well represented line so he may not be required in the breeding program.
The three bulls at the time were:
1.0 Shaka (1991)
1.0 Janu (2005)
1.0 M’Changa (2008-2021)
Given the bulls had lived amicably together for years, I’d suspect the likely cause was M’Changa being viewed as competition as he matured - combined Janu’s history of aggression as detailed by @Hyak_II and heightened aggression from being in musth perhaps (though they should have been separated if this was the case).
I agree. Usually with guys this age its a more drawn out process when two bulls no longer become compatible, and given there was still a fairly decent size difference between the two, its odd to have one lash out so suddenly and aggressively (and normally its the younger bull, not the older). I do know M'changa was a rather confident and plucky young bull who enjoyed sparring, so given the overall impression that it happened very quickly during the night, I can't help but think that Janu just went after him while he was laying down and didn't even give him a chance to defend himself. I think if they were both up and on even ground, Janu likely would have still emerged the victor, but M'changa would likely have been able to defend himself enough to survive the encounter.
Overall though, the elephant team at Noah's Ark is highly competent and has some very experienced folk on it, I have no doubt the staff were confident the bulls were compatible if they were allowing them to sleep together overnight. I'm very much under the impression everything was business as usual up until the incident.
It would also usually happen over time. I don't think the keepers would've been keeping them together over night if they had begun to become incompatible. It indicates this event was rather unexpected.
Janu was much larger than Mchanga, so once he got Mchanga asleep it was a lost battle right from the start. Still, I agree, if it occurred when Mchanga wasn't sleeping I too think it would've given a completely different result.
It'll be interesting to know where the older male (Shaka) was during this time; whether he was in with them or not. I doubt he would've intervened, but it's possible he may have been the one who stirred up Janu in the first place.
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
@Hyak_II since M’Changa’s tragic death I have wondered which Elephant caused it. I was lead to believe the culprit was Shaka. I’m generally shocked that the murderer was Janu. I thought M’Changa lost his life too Shaka. My reason being that Shaka is an incredibly aggressive Bull. Shaka has moved across various Zoos due to aggression. At Shaka’s last home in Vienna he was separated from the Cowes. This was the scenario as he displayed aggression. @Hyak_II can you please tell me more about Janu’s history of aggression and the death of his Brother? Finally how did you find out that M’Changa’s passing was a result of Janu and not Shaka.
I've never heard of Shaka being an aggressive bull. Are you sure he was moved due to his aggression? If he was, he's mellowed out over the years. He's a rather laidback bull these days.
Janu's younger brother, Juva, who moved to Port Lympne with him in 2011, died there in 2012 due to injuries resulting from a fight with herd mates. The only other bull at the park at the time was Kruger (a retired bull in his 30's) who was a mentor for the young males.
We shouldn’t anthropomorphise in these scenarios. Janu is not a murderer; nor is he a serial killer (given his actions led to the euthanasia of another elephant prior) before someone says it.
This was merely a display of aggression that led to the death of another elephant. A tragic incident that may have been prevented (or at least negated) had M’Changa not been asleep at the time of the attack.
Rajang-GOAT
Well-Known Member
Firstly I do understand the confusion and frustration at the seemingly unprovoked speculation on this topic. Personally I first discovered this discussion before I knew about zoochat, and this was exactly what I wanted to hear- progress and maybe a future for the African Elephant breeding programme at Colchester Zoo. I suppose that the hope is what has lead me and others into feeding into this speculation, though from what I have been told the zoo is considering options, and they do have plans in place so are motivated to some extent. I do understand that to an outsider the African Elephant breeding programme at Colchester Zoo may seem doomed, but for the sake of the elephants and the zoo itself, I hope there is a bright future for the herd. To me, the African Elephants as individuals are the most meaningful and significant animals (close to the chimps) in Colchester Zoo today. Everything about them- their history, their enclosure, their legacy, and if I had one zoo related wish it would almost certainly be to do with these Elephants, and I will now continue to follow and question about the plans for Elephants at Colchester Zoo with hope for breeding in the future.
The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
@Rajang-GOAT do you know if Colchester Zoo have plans to welcome further Elephants,within the next year? Do you think Tembo should move to another Zoo. I think that Bioparc Valencia and Colchester Zoo should swap Jambo and Tembo. Have you heard if Colchester are considering bringing Jambo back?
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The Hedgehog
Well-Known Member
Sutton at West Midlands Safari Park is reaching the age when he should leave his Mum Five. Could Sutton be a candidate for Kibo’s successor at Bioparc Valencia?
I think Colchester should personally start over if they want to continue breeding. Their females are now in their 40's and haven't given birth in more than a decade. Swapping Tembo and Jambo seems reasonable as Jambo hasn't proven himself yet at Valencia.
If they want to continue breeding, I would send their three females to a retirement facility; replace them with another three or so elephants from another facility and then swap Tembo and Jambo, so that Jambo can have a chance with a new herd (back at his birthplace).
If Colchester wants to remain with their current females, the best option still is to swap Tembo and Jambo. Tembo's relatively unrepresented so sending him to Valencia is best, especially as Colchester won't be breeding anytime soon with their current herd.