North American African Elephant Population 2024
- Thread starter E Maximus
- Start date
San Diego has too many females to consider AI as an option. Doing AI on an elephant is simply too complicated- too many things need to work out exactly as planned at exactly the right time. And you must be prepared to repeat the process multiple times for a single pregnancy. There is a reason why zoos usually only archieve one or two pregnancies by AI, and that with long birth intervals, wasting so much reproductive potential.
Arlo seems like the best option...despite the fact that it's not the best name for a baby elephant imo!
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
What exactly is wrong with Arlo?
It means hill. A landscape name is hardly the worst thing to bestow onto a baby elephant.
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
Arlo also reminds me of the character from the good dinosaur, which is adorable for an elephant! Its one of my personal favorites from the list alongside Loki and Leo.
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
My thoughts exactly, lol.
With regards to the "L" suggestions, I like Leap above all else. Fitting, since the little one was introduced to us all on Leap Day!
Arlo is abetter name for an elephant than Loki. Loki is a name that’s more appropriate for dogs or anything that bears a black coat. For L names I wish Lars was suggested.
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
Semba's calf is now viewable on exhibit! The calf's sex is still undetermined.
Reid Park Zoo on Instagram: Watch the newborn elephant calf explore the world with the herd!
Reid Park Zoo on Instagram: Watch the newborn elephant calf explore the world with the herd!
I could be wrong, but from the footage it does look like a little boy.
Mr.Ivory
Well-Known Member
To me, it looks like the umbilical cord rather than male genitalia
Of these names, Leo would have the most commercial appeal.
Leo has been a popular boys name in the US for several years now and kids visiting the zoo would find it exciting to hear they shared a name with the elephant calf. You only have to look at a zoo’s socials to find adults tagging each other/commenting if they see an animal with their friend’s name, so it transcends even beyond the zoo’s target demographic.
Loki (and to a lesser extent, Arlo) are also popular names due to their respective pop culture references.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Great to see that the calf has already been introduced to the whole herd!
Spike
Well-Known Member
It is very exciting to see such a large family group living together. Far too often we see herds split up ( I know his is not the zoo’s fault most of the time).
This is also equally great as this herd consists of Litsemba, her two daughters and now this newborn calf - the foundations of a well structured matriarchal herd.
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
The Louisville Zoo has announced their remaining two elephants, Mikki (African) and Punch (Asian), will be relocated to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee sometime in spring of 2025!
LouisvilleZoo on Instagram: Today, the Louisville Zoo announced it is initiating preparations to relocate African elephant Mikki and Asian elephant Punch to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Additionally, a larger elephant habitat with a focus on a multigenerational herd is being considered in the zoo's masterplan.
LouisvilleZoo on Instagram: Today, the Louisville Zoo announced it is initiating preparations to relocate African elephant Mikki and Asian elephant Punch to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Additionally, a larger elephant habitat with a focus on a multigenerational herd is being considered in the zoo's masterplan.
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
Also announced, 14 year old Zuri at the Kansas City zoo is recovering from EEHV. The virus was detected in late February, and the zoo is cautiously optimistic she is past the worst of it.
https://kansascityzoo.org/featured-story/an-elephant-sized-recovery/
https://kansascityzoo.org/featured-story/an-elephant-sized-recovery/
Honestly, I think it might be a pipe dream, but good luck to them
That’s wonderful news!
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
Renee's calf has been named "Kirk", which is short for "Kirkwood", a town in Africa with a large population of elephants.
The Toledo Zoo on Instagram: We're blasting our trunks in excitement because the baby Elephant name reveal is finally here!
The Toledo Zoo on Instagram: We're blasting our trunks in excitement because the baby Elephant name reveal is finally here!
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Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
I'd been wondering if Louisville was going to opt for something like this after Fitz died.
Let's be brutally honest here: Fitz was really the only thing Louisville had going for it as far as elephants were concerned. And I say this as someone who loves Louisville, it's my local zoo!
It's one of the last facilities in North America that continues to house African and Asian elephants together. The AZA has made it clear that such a thing is a very much something that should be left behind in the past and that zoos going forward should focus on having only one of the two elephant species, not strive to have both of them. (Unless they're the odd zoo who has the means to somehow house both species separately, in expansive enclosures. I guess? Is there any zoo out there who even has that ability?)
The elephant enclosure is tiny, there's absolutely no room for a breeding herd of either species as it stands now. Hell, it looks cramped even with just Mikki and Punch!
Mikki is 39 years old. Sure, she's successfully had two calves.
But that was, 1.) Via A.I. Louisville's elephant enclosure has never been large or robust enough to house a bull elephant. Especially not an African bull elephant.
2.) By Jackson. Who, as many users on here know, is a very... well-represented bull in North America's African elephant population.
3.) Both of those were calves were bull calves. North America is increasingly in need of bachelor facilities to house young bulls of both species. Africans only have Birmingham right now. Which, while it's a great zoo that thus far has done a lovely job... it's likely too small to house every African bull calf coming up in the pipeline right now, let alone in the future as the African elephant population expands.
4.) Both calves died. Scotty of colic, and more recently Fitz of EEHV. Both tragedies no doubt, I particularly miss Fitz. But as it stands, Mikki has no living offspring and thus, no descendants that rely on her remaining at Louisville.
I suppose she could have another calf or two in her, to lose a wildborn potential founder is a tough pill to swallow for any captive population. But her reproductive history doesn't incite excitement in me. Especially if any potential calves that she could have in the future are more Jackson babies, who would grow up in a small enclosure, in an artificially isolated herd. Of which the only other member of that isn't their mother is an unrelated female elephant of another species.
Not exactly a formula for success. Especially in light of how North America struggles with behavioral non-breeder African elephant bulls. We need to set male calves up for success! And Louisville as it stands now, just can't provide that.
Therefore, I actually think Louisville is best served by "cutting their losses" so to speak and sending Mikki on with Punch to TES.
She's taking up space at a facility that's in desperate need of revamp. Sending her to TES (The AZA's unofficial/official retirement facility) just makes sense. She'll have literal acres to roam there, and possibly even have opportunities to socialize with her own species! Something that she hasn't had in nearly forty years!
I don't doubt that this move will be hard on both Mikki and Louisville staff alike. Mikki has again, lived at Louisville for nearly forty years! That's well beyond that majority of her life! The staff there are doubtlessly deeply attached to her. And the public too! Louisville loves its zoo, elephants included.
But I genuinely do think that this move will be a super positive thing for Mikki in the long run.
And for Louisville itself! Sending the girls away and redoing the elephant exhibit would be great for both the zoo and the city. Louisville in an underrated zoo in my opinion, it's got a huge variety and even some rare species that one would normally have to go a "legendary" zoo like the Bronx or San Diego to see! But the elephant enclosure definitely doesn't live up to the overall quality the rest of the zoo has, it's a bit of a blight on it to be honest. Which drags Louisville, as a cities, reputation down.
So, sending the girls to a retirement type place = Great PR.
Revamping the elephant enclosure, finally bringing it up to date and at the very least, on parr with the rest of the zoo = Also great PR.
It's kind of a win-win situation all around, personal disappointments aside.
My only quibble is that I do hope that Louisville doesn't get "stuck" on the idea of having a multigenerational herd of elephants if it really does want to stick with elephants in the future, and not just, reuse the space the elephant exhibit currently takes up for another species.
North America is in desperate need of bachelor holding facilities! For both elephant species! And that need is only going to continue to grow as both African and Asian populations continue to grow and perhaps, expand. 50% of calves produced are going to be male regardless, those boys are going to need places to live once they start reaching maturity.
And Louisville is actually rather centrally located in the eastern half of the US. Bulls could be shipped in and then shipped out from zoos located all over the east coast rather easily IMHO.