North American African Elephant Bull transfer concepts

[Frankie_number_1_fan]

Similar to the thread I created surrounding my thoughts on hypothetical transfers within the asian elephant population, I've created this thread to discuss the (pun intended) elephant in the room when it comes to their african counterparts: bulls and the growing issue of overrepresented bloodlines. For fun, I've looked through the US population of bulls (excluding older bulls known to be nonbreeders) and determined a hypothetical list of transfers that could occur to help diversify the gene pool.

For realism's sake, Canadian bulls have been excluded since there has been no evidence they will leave the country.

There are currently 10 active breeding facilities in the region.

- Reid Park Zoo (No bull)

- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (No bull)

- Fresno Chaffe Zoo (1 bull)

- Disney's Animal Kingdom (3 bulls, 2 unproven)

- Tampa Zoo (1 bull)

- Indianapolis Zoo (1 unproven bull)

- Sedgewick County Zoo (2 bulls, 1 unproven )

- Henry Doorly Zoo (No bull)

- Toledo Zoo (1 unproven bull)

- Dallas Zoo (1 bull)

- Kansas City Zoo (1 unproven bull)


There are currently 6 naturally proven breeding bulls.

- Mabhulane (15 calves, 14 living, 2 expected)

- Maclean (5 calves, 4 living, 1 expected)

- Sdudla (4 calves, 3 living)

- Callee (5 calves, 5 living, potentially up to 5 expected)

- Jackson (15 calves, 8 living)

- Tendaji (1 calf, 1 living)


There are 13 unproven but potential natural breeding bull candidates

- Ingadze (No offspring)

- Lutsandvo (No offspring)

- Vus’musi (No offspring)

Tsandzikle (No offspring)

- Inhlonipho (No offspring)

- Tsavo (No offspring)

- Jabali (No offspring)

- Kedar (No offspring)

- Titan (2 calves, 2 living)

- Samson (No offspring

- Tamani (No offspring)

- Ajani (No offspring)

- Macembe (No offspring)

- Emanti (No offspring)

With that aside, here are some potential transfers that I feel would benefit the population:

Reid Park Zoo

• After a few years in bachelor holding, transfer in Vus'musi from the San Diego Zoo to breed with females Litsemba and Nandi. His wildborn genes will enhance the value of Reid Park's herd.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

• Once he has successfully sired another calf with Mlilo (and potentially Zola), bring in Tendaji from the Dallas Zoo. Tendaji is young, but proven and his wildborn genes are very underrepresented.

Tampa Zoo

• Transfer Sdudla to the Indianapolis Zoo in exchange for Kedar. Kedar is unproven but valuable, and has never left his natal facility for a chance to breed.
• If Kedar proves to be a nonbreeder, transfer in either Jabali or Tsavo from Animal Kingdom, depending on which is proven.

Indianapolis Zoo

• As mentioned, bring in Sdudla in exchange for Kedar. Sdudla is an experienced, proven bull who would be a great mentor for Jabari while also siring valuable calves with Zahara.

Henry Doorly Zoo

• Transfer in Titian from the Sedgewick County Zoo. Titian is proven to be fertile but has not been in a facility without his mother yet. This facility provides several cows and calves for him to bond with.

I also feel that looking to overseas is the only way to sustain a diverse population longterm. With such limited founder representation, in a few short generations it will be harder to avoid inbreeding. Europe surely has surplus they'd be looking to offload.

I am very curious to see if anyone else has thoughts on this matter, or if any specific European lines come to mind for surplus males (as I am very unfamiliar).

 

[15399]

Reid Park Zoo

• After a few years in bachelor holding, transfer in Vus'musi from the San Diego Zoo to breed with females Litsemba and Nandi. His wildborn genes will enhance the value of Reid Park's herd.

Logical move. Reid Park and San Diego is a logical, short-distance transfer, so provided that Vus'musi shows signs of being a strong candidate for natural breeding, Reid Park seems like a logical next home for him- especially since Litsemba doesn't need to be bred urgently.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

• Once he has successfully sired another calf with Mlilo (and potentially Zola), bring in Tendaji from the Dallas Zoo. Tendaji is young, but proven and his wildborn genes are very underrepresented.

I question the value in waiting to transfer a new male to SDZSP. SDZSP has a lot of valuable, breeding-age females, two of which (Khosi and Phakamile) are running out of time to have a first calf. I'd rather SDZSP bring in a new bull ASAP, whether that bull is Tendaji or someone else, instead of waiting for another calf at Dallas first. Tendaji does seem like a logical choice for SDZSP, although so would Callee at Sedgwick in order to ensure those females are bred ASAP.

Tampa Zoo

• Transfer Sdudla to the Indianapolis Zoo in exchange for Kedar. Kedar is unproven but valuable, and has never left his natal facility for a chance to breed.
• If Kedar proves to be a nonbreeder, transfer in either Jabali or Tsavo from Animal Kingdom, depending on which is proven.

Personally, I find limiting the distance of transfers that happen to be a beneficial consideration whenever possible. As such, I would argue that one of the DAK bulls would be an even better first choice than Kedar due to the short distance. That said, any reason that Ali at Jacksonville can't be considered a breeding candidate for Tampa?

Indianapolis Zoo

• As mentioned, bring in Sdudla in exchange for Kedar. Sdudla is an experienced, proven bull who would be a great mentor for Jabari while also siring valuable calves with Zahara.

Ideally, Sdudla's valuable genes would be saved for a facility with a larger number of cows to be bred- such as being Maclean's replacement at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Instead, an optimal bull for Indianapolis would be either the second younger DAK bull and/or one of the younger Birmingham bulls.

Henry Doorly Zoo

• Transfer in Titian from the Sedgewick County Zoo. Titian is proven to be fertile but has not been in a facility without his mother yet. This facility provides several cows and calves for him to bond with.

Titan could be a logical choice for Henry Doorly. I could also see this being a logical next home for Kedar at Indianapolis. Titan or Kedar would also be ideal choices for if any of the larger zoos (Omaha, Sedgwick, SDZSP, or DAK) undergo a herd split in the near future. If Sedgwick's upcoming calves are primarily female, in that case I'd recommend a herd split in which Titan and two mother-daughter diads are transferred to Cleveland, which could in turn send their four elderly cows to either TES or a retirement zoo.

One additional, unmentioned bull I'd consider moving: Samson at Maryland. He's a valuable bull, and would be an optimal next breeding bull for either Pittsburgh facility, given Jackson's old age.

Secondly, I notice that you don't recommend Dallas Zoo to receive a new bull. Given the short distance and his valuable mother, I would say Emanti at Caldwell is an ideal choice.

 

[Frankie_number_1_fan]

I question the value in waiting to transfer a new male to SDZSP. SDZSP has a lot of valuable, breeding-age females, two of which (Khosi and Phakamile) are running out of time to have a first calf. I'd rather SDZSP bring in a new bull ASAP, whether that bull is Tendaji or someone else, instead of waiting for another calf at Dallas first. Tendaji does seem like a logical choice for SDZSP, although so would Callee at Sedgwick in order to ensure those females are bred ASAP.

Tendaji has recently been reintroduced to Mlilo again, so its incredibly likely that a pregnancy will soon occur if not already. Callee would be a great choice as well, but I'm unsure he would be leaving Sedgwick so soon after arriving, iirc the goal is for him to bond with and mentor Titian as well. My thought is that Tendaji could depart soon for the safari park.

Personally, I find limiting the distance of transfers that happen to be a beneficial consideration whenever possible. As such, I would argue that one of the DAK bulls would be an even better first choice than Kedar due to the short distance. That said, any reason that Ali at Jacksonville can't be considered a breeding candidate for Tampa?

Fair point. Sending one of DAK's bulls first would be a good choice as well, my thought process there is they would want their two boys to breed with Stella before a transfer. As for Ali, I couldve sworn he's never sired a calf naturally but I may be incorrect on that though.

Ideally, Sdudla's valuable genes would be saved for a facility with a larger number of cows to be bred- such as being Maclean's replacement at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Instead, an optimal bull for Indianapolis would be either the second younger DAK bull and/or one of the younger Birmingham bulls.

There's very little reason to move Mac from DAK for now when he only has a small handful of calves (and especially given he's producing females primarily). Sdudla would certianly be of greater value at a larger facility, but the closest breeding facility aside from DAK would be Indianapolis, and potentially a valuable "step" in him moving to a more westward facility like Omaha down the line. I do believe Indianapolis needs a well proven bull at least temporarily and Sududla would check that box.

One additional, unmentioned bull I'd consider moving: Samson at Maryland. He's a valuable bull, and would be an optimal next breeding bull for either Pittsburgh facility, given Jackson's old age.

Samson would be a perfect choice for Pittsburgh, especially considering the young cows there need bred asap!

Secondly, I notice that you don't recommend Dallas Zoo to receive a new bull. Given the short distance and his valuable mother, I would say Emanti at Caldwell is an ideal choice.

I question if putting any of Mabu's sons into breeding situations at the moment is ideal (especially at a facility such as Dallas with very valuable animals) is a great idea. He has a plethora of daughters, and I'd argue that his sons would ONLY need to enter breeding situations if those girls dont breed. However, Emanti would be the best choice of his sons and not a poor choice for Dallas given the distance. My thought was that Tendaji could return after some time at the safari park to sire another calf or two.

 

[15399]

There's very little reason to move Mac from DAK for now when he only has a small handful of calves (and especially given he's producing females primarily). Sdudla would certianly be of greater value at a larger facility, but the closest breeding facility aside from DAK would be Indianapolis, and potentially a valuable "step" in him moving to a more westward facility like Omaha down the line. I do believe Indianapolis needs a well proven bull at least temporarily and Sududla would check that box.

Note: I didn't mean for Maclean to leave DAK. I meant to move Sdudla to DAK since Maclean is an elderly bull who won't have many more years of breeding left in him. I wasn't thinking about just how south Indianapolis is- looking at Google Maps I stand corrected and it's a shorter transfer from Tampa to Indianapolis than I was originally thinking. Dallas and Pittsburgh would be similar distances, however, and I would probably opt for Sdudla to move to Pittsburgh over Indianapolis given the choice.

I question if putting any of Mabu's sons into breeding situations at the moment is ideal (especially at a facility such as Dallas with very valuable animals) is a great idea. He has a plethora of daughters, and I'd argue that his sons would ONLY need to enter breeding situations if those girls dont breed. However, Emanti would be the best choice of his sons and not a poor choice for Dallas given the distance. My thought was that Tendaji could return after some time at the safari park to sire another calf or two.

I think there is an inherent benefit to having more proven breeders- even if some aren't quite as valuable as others. None of Mabhulane's children are proven yet, and since two of his six daughters are nearing the age they may never breed (including Phakamile- Emanti's only full sibling), I don't think it's unreasonable to start placing some of his more valuable sons into breeding situations. More proven males means more flexibility in the future- so I could see a benefit of moving Emanti temporarily into a breeding situation, even if he returns to a bachelor holding in the future.

 

[Frankie_number_1_fan]

Note: I didn't mean for Maclean to leave DAK. I meant to move Sdudla to DAK since Maclean is an elderly bull who won't have many more years of breeding left in him. I wasn't thinking about just how south Indianapolis is- looking at Google Maps I stand corrected and it's a shorter transfer from Tampa to Indianapolis than I was originally thinking. Dallas and Pittsburgh would be similar distances, however, and I would probably opt for Sdudla to move to Pittsburgh over Indianapolis given the choice.


I think there is an inherent benefit to having more proven breeders- even if some aren't quite as valuable as others. None of Mabhulane's children are proven yet, and since two of his six daughters are nearing the age they may never breed (including Phakamile- Emanti's only full sibling), I don't think it's unreasonable to start placing some of his more valuable sons into breeding situations. More proven males means more flexibility in the future- so I could see a benefit of moving Emanti temporarily into a breeding situation, even if he returns to a bachelor holding in the future.

Realizing I never hit reply on this

Note: I didn't mean for Maclean to leave DAK. I meant to move Sdudla to DAK since Maclean is an elderly bull who won't have many more years of breeding left in him.

They will unquestionably need another bull other than Mac in the near future. Neither Jabali or Tsavo is capable of taking over as a breeding bull once Mac retires/dies (Both being related to Nadirah and/or Kianga). A swap with another facility for Jabali or Tsavo (depending on which has sired Luna's calf) will be nessecary. Sdudla would be a decent choice, but honestly I'd rather see him move further north/west so that he is more open to a move at a facility like Sedgewick or Omaha in the future. Although a swap begween the two facilities feels remarkably likely just given distance alone. Honestly, both of DAK'S young bulls should be moving out in the near future, both have shown promising breeding behavior and both are fairly valuable all things considering.

I think there is an inherent benefit to having more proven breeders- even if some aren't quite as valuable as others. None of Mabhulane's children are proven yet, and since two of his six daughters are nearing the age they may never breed (including Phakamile- Emanti's only full sibling), I don't think it's unreasonable to start placing some of his more valuable sons into breeding situations.

Very fair point regarding Emanti. He's unquestionably the most valuable of Mabu's sons given the increasing likelihood of his sister never breeding and truthfully one or two of Mabu's sons will likely end up leaving bachelor holding someday due to space or issues that arise at maturity. Keeping them as permenant bachelor animals is remarkably unlikely if current breeding trends continue and assuming none are exported.

Speaking of exports/imports, I certianly hope the US doesn't shy away from exporting a surplus bull or two in favor of a few European bulls. I won't pretend to know anything about the current state of the European population, but surely accepting one or two of Mabu's sons (being 1st generation bulls to wildborn parents) would be welcomed in exchange for a surplus young bull or two from their population.