ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2024

Lafone said:
I've seen them regularly in different combinations across the herd inside and outside over time, perhaps it is situational in reaction to something, or just about who is moving to be near the male etc. It's hard to say what the permanent situation is without Whipsnade saying so themselves.
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That’s interesting. One of the volunteers said that they were going to be moved to another zoo. Obviously i can’t be certain but that’s what i was told.
 
illow said:
That’s interesting. One of the volunteers said that they were going to be moved to another zoo. Obviously i can’t be certain but that’s what i was told.
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The volunteers often pick things up and have the low down so it may well be the case, it's been on the cards as others have mentioned. Mind you a volunteer said Nilo (red panda, edited to add) had died when he moved temporarily to Bristol.

Doesn't stop them being out together however and of course they may have been separated when people saw that for movement training. It's worth asking in the talks as the keepers or the people doing the elephant talk tend to have the latest view. I think drawing the conclusion they are separated because they don't get on is however not much borne out.
 
I know Khaing Mya(elephant) was rehomed in 2018, was that because she couldn't be integrated into the herd after Azizah died?
 
Embu said:
I know Khaing Mya(elephant) was rehomed in 2018, was that because she couldn't be integrated into the herd after Azizah died?
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Yeah that was the case; she was sent to Italy in 2019.

Azizah was at London with Mya so the pair were fairly close. However without Azizah's presence, Mya didn't get along with the other elephants (Kaylee and Lucha mainly). I believe she was kept with just Karishma and Elizabeth for a period, but obviously it was the best decision to send her away rather than permanently having two separate groups.
 
I think Whipsnade's problem with their elephants stems back to how the group was initially formed, with two different and unrelated subgroups(or pairs?) from London and Whipsnade being brought together. They never really got along and seemed permanently seperated in the later years. Then Karishma was added, from yet another group at Twycross. Despite calves being born, the foundations for real group cohesion are still missing.
 
Pertinax said:
I think Whipsnade's problem with their elephants stems back to how the group was initially formed, with two different and unrelated subgroups(or pairs?) from London and Whipsnade being brought together. They never really got along and seemed permanently seperated in the later years. Then Karishma was added, from yet another group at Twycross. Despite calves being born, the foundations for real group cohesion are still missing.
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It was actually three cows from London that were brought over to Whipsnade back in 2001 (Mya, Azizah and Geeta). They joined three cows already present acquired from Burma in 1989 (Kaylee, Lucha and Anna).

In 2002, Anna tragically died delivering stillborn twins and four years later Geeta was euthanised due to progressive arthritis. Due to Lucha's inability to also breed as a result of not passing her fetus, and Mya never conceiving, Karishma was acquired as a third breeding cow alongside Azizah and Kaylee.

Initially, all of the cows seemed to get along together, but by around a decade later (the time of Elizabeth's birth) it did seem like the groups were separated more often than not.
 
Jambo said:
It was actually three cows from London that were brought over to Whipsnade back in 2001 (Mya, Azizah and Geeta). They joined three cows already present acquired from Burma in 1989 (Kaylee, Lucha and Anna).

In 2002, Anna tragically died delivering stillborn twins and four years later Geeta was euthanised due to progressive arthritis. Due to Lucha's inability to also breed as a result of not passing her fetus, and Mya never conceiving, Karishma was acquired as a third breeding cow alongside Azizah and Kaylee.

Initially, all of the cows seemed to get along together, but by around a decade later (the time of Elizabeth's birth) it did seem like the groups were separated more often than not.
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What's the evidence for the groups being separated more often than not after Elizabeth was born? Obviously I am only a regular visitor and not an elephant expert but I haven't seen the group separated more often than not as suggested so am interested in the frequent separation that has been going on and how it has been communicated over the last eight years.
 
Jambo said:
It was actually three cows from London that were brought over to Whipsnade back in 2001 (Mya, Azizah and Geeta). They joined three cows already present acquired from Burma in 1989 (Kaylee, Lucha and Anna).

In 2002, Anna tragically died delivering stillborn twins and four years later Geeta was euthanised due to progressive arthritis. Due to Lucha's inability to also breed as a result of not passing her fetus, and Mya never conceiving, Karishma was acquired as a third breeding cow alongside Azizah and Kaylee.

Initially, all of the cows seemed to get along together, but by around a decade later (the time of Elizabeth's birth) it did seem like the groups were separated more often than not.
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Thanks for the full history. Yes I thought it was three from London joining three at Whipsnade but couldn't remember all the names and who was from where. Much clearer now.
 
Lafone said:
What's the evidence for the groups being separated more often than not after Elizabeth was born? Obviously I am only a regular visitor and not an elephant expert but I haven't seen the group separated more often than not as suggested so am interested in the frequent separation that has been going on and how it has been communicated over the last eight years.
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This is mostly just from my recollection so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - I was more so referring to the period following Azizah's passing and prior to Mya's departure!
 
Jambo said:
This is mostly just from my recollection so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - I was more so referring to the period following Azizah's passing and prior to Mya's departure!
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Makes sense, since then I think things were more settled.
 
polarbear said:
Truly surprised they didn’t close yesterday with the strength of the winds then.
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Yes quite, yesterdays were about 10mph higher than today.
We record wind speed and gusts in this part of the country, not too far from Whipsnade.
51mph maximum last night and 62mph the previous night; so neither that bad/high really, just a normal English winter.
 
polarbear said:
Truly surprised they didn’t close yesterday with the strength of the winds then.
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And I can't imagine anyone except a madman wanting to visit Whipsnade(or most zoos) under the current weather conditions. An awful lot of animals would be invisible too.
 
Not surprised they were shut, I was out photographing deer and the weather was pretty grim all round and that was lower down. Whipsnade would probably have shut the lions and tiger in at least yesterday, so the number of animals on view would be ever reducing, though I find it is still a great place to go in rubbish weather. The sheer number of trees would worry them in the wind I imagine with the speed it runs over the downs...nightmare if a tree fell on someone or an enclosure while people were there.
 
Enjoyable visit to Whipsnade today, cold with very little wind but quiet & virtually deserted. Unexpectedly saw two new additions, a baby Yak and a baby Sulawesi crested macaque.

SulawesiCrestedMacaquesBaby-P1020745.JPG
 

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