There is absolutely zero need for Miami to phase out either species. The exhibits are clean across the zoo from each other with zero mixture between the animals. Short of infrasound and *perhaps* the loudest of trumpets or roars, they’re not even within auditory distance of each other.
As for their exhibits… Miami has technically bred both species in the past. As has already been mentioned here, Ongard is an incredibly genetically valuable individual, but he is still very young, only 15 years old. Their Asian exhibit is perfectly capable of holding a small breeding group of at least four adult animals plus dependent calves. The main issue with Miami acquiring more animals is Nelly. She’s coming up on almost 60 years old, and while Miami is technically capable of holding three separate groups of animals, their Asian exhibit really is best suited to holding only two separate groups at most. I would not be surprised to see them hold off on any new acquisitions of Asian elephants until Nelly passes away, which realistically, will most likely be at some point within the next 10 years.
As for Africans, the United States is in the very unique position of having the 14 recently imported Swaziland cows, all of whom, barring one, are proven breeders. While I doubt we will see any further splitting from Fresno or Dallas for the foreseeable future, Sedgwick and Omaha are both primed, and probably wanting, to offload cows as their breeding success as taken off. Given that Miami only has the two geriatric African cows, I would not be at all surprised to see them either offload them to a retirement facility, which Miami has essentially been functioning as so far, or simply retaining them while still bringing in a mother/calf pair at some point in the next few years. Given the fact that both cows are coming up on 50 years old, they statistically will both be deceased within the next 10 years as well. It would be pushing it if they did end up living for that full 10 years or slightly exceeding it, but conceivably it would be no issue for Miami to hold off on any further breeding until those two pass away, before bringing in a mature bull to breed, which at that point, there would be several of in the states.
