Australian Asian Elephant Population 2025

Zorro said:
That's good to know for sure. I would image that a couple of the Taronga elephant keepers will travel with them and stay for a couple of weeks to settle them in!
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Definitely. Two teams will be accompanying the elephants to Monarto initially and then some of their keepers will be staying on (in Taronga’s words) ‘for as long as the elephants need’ to help them settle in. The keepers will remain employed by Taronga Zoo and as such no fixed time has been given for their return.

Taronga have also stated their elephants keepers will in the future work with Hari the Indian rhinoceros, scheduled to arrive in spring.

Considering Pak Boon and Tang Mo will have each other for support, I anticipate they’ll settle in much better than Permai for example; or even Burma, who found the open range site (complete with kangaroos) a contrast from her New Zealand home.
 
Taronga Zoo no longer has Asian elephants:

Taronga Zoo’s last elephants have departed Taronga Zoo for Monarto Safari Park, ending an association with elephants that dates back to the zoo’s opening in 1916:

From socials:

The trunks are all packed and the Eles have departed Taronga Zoo Sydney.

After more than a year of planning and crate training, everything came together this morning. Both elephants voluntarily walked into their crates and had their ‘seatbelts’ fastened as their now practiced routine. The crates were then lifted via crane onto awaiting trucks and departed Taronga Zoo Sydney.

We estimate the trip to take approximately 22 hours and anticipate arriving in SA on Wednesday 30 April. Tang Mo and Pak Boon are being accompanied by an expert team comprising of veterinarians and keepers who will monitor them closely throughout the journey.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Taronga Zoo no longer has Asian elephants:

Taronga Zoo’s last elephants have departed Taronga Zoo for Monarto Safari Park, ending an association with elephants that dates back to the zoo’s opening in 1916:

From socials:

The trunks are all packed and the Eles have departed Taronga Zoo Sydney.

After more than a year of planning and crate training, everything came together this morning. Both elephants voluntarily walked into their crates and had their ‘seatbelts’ fastened as their now practiced routine. The crates were then lifted via crane onto awaiting trucks and departed Taronga Zoo Sydney.

We estimate the trip to take approximately 22 hours and anticipate arriving in SA on Wednesday 30 April. Tang Mo and Pak Boon are being accompanied by an expert team comprising of veterinarians and keepers who will monitor them closely throughout the journey.
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Taronga just posted a video of them leaving the zoo on Facebook
 
Zoofan15 said:
What’s more, elephants can detect individuals from their vocalisations (not unlike a signature). Pak Boon and Tang Mo were quarantined with Dokkoon, Kulab and Num-Oi in transit to Australia, so in addition to detecting the presence of elephants as they drove past Werribee, they may have known exactly which ones.

Wild herds have been known to recognise vocalisations of deceased herd mates a decade or more after their passing. While the bonds those cows formed in quarantine would have nowhere near as strong as what you’d expect to find in a multigenerational herd, it was a very significant period of time in their lives and no doubt memorable.
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Osedax said:
They have also lived with Luk Chai before, so would know him.
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Good point. Thong Dee and Tang Mo were very close and the latter formed an equally close relationship with Thong Dee’s son. The three of them spent a lot of time as a social grouping; with Porntip, Pak Boon and their calves comprising an equally close social unit. Like Zoos Victoria’s herd, they were a cohesive herd overall and Tang Mo was often found at the bottom of the pile of calves, clearly loving every minute.

Pak Boon breeding at Monarto would be so beneficial - not just in the establishment of a multigenerational herd; but for Tang Mo in gaining the opportunity to take on an auntie role; and for Burma and Permai, who wouldn’t have seen a calf since they were juveniles.
 
ZCChip said:
To be clear: Monarto will have 4 cows and 1 bull. One cow is breedable and the bull is a non behavioral breeder. Correct? What is the long term plan at Monarto?
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Regarding the cows, Pak Boon is the only viable breeder, last producing a calf in 2017. Burma and Permai have never bred; and Tang Mo was deemed non-viable as a breeder by the Berlin team.

Putra Mas in unproven. Mounting behaviour was reported by Perth Zoo in regards to attempts to breed him and Permai, but he anxiety around the process led to him becoming aggressive in response. Pairing him with Pak Boon (a proven breeder) will as such be the true test.

1.0 Putra Mas (1989) Imported 1992

0.1 Burma (1982) Imported 1990
0.1 Permai (1989) Imported 1992
0.1 Pak Boon (1992) Imported 2006
0.1 Tang Mo (1999) Imported 2006

No confirmation has been given by Monarto, but presumably the plan is to build up a multigenerational herd around Pak Boon - resorting to AI if natural breeding fails.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Regarding the cows, Pak Boon is the only viable breeder, last producing a calf in 2017. Burma and Permai have never bred; and Tang Mo was deemed non-viable as a breeder by the Berlin team.

Putra Mas in unproven. Mounting behaviour was reported by Perth Zoo in regards to attempts to breed him and Permai, but he anxiety around the process led to him becoming aggressive in response. Pairing him with Pak Boon (a proven breeder) will as such be the true test.

1.0 Putra Mas (1989) Imported 1992

0.1 Burma (1982) Imported 1990
0.1 Permai (1989) Imported 1992
0.1 Pak Boon (1992) Imported 2006
0.1 Tang Mo (1999) Imported 2006

No confirmation has been given by Monarto, but presumably the plan is to build up a multigenerational herd around Pak Boon - resorting to AI if natural breeding fails.
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So Permai made Putra Mas frustrated or he made himself frustrated?
 
ZCChip said:
So Permai made Putra Mas frustrated or he made himself frustrated?
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Permai became anxious as Putra Mas mounted, often refusing to allow him to proceed. This made Putra Mas frustrated in response, heightening Permai’s anxiety. At one point they proposed chaining Putra Mas to give Permai the option to escape him if she wished.

In conjunction with natural mating, AI (for which Putra Mas is trained) was trialled without success.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Permai became anxious as Putra Mas mounted, often refusing to allow him to proceed. This made Putra Mas frustrated in response, heightening Permai’s anxiety. At one point they proposed chaining Putra Mas to give Permai the option to escape him if she wished.

In conjunction with natural mating, AI (for which Putra Mas is trained) was trialled without success.
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Thanks for the clarification. I am glad that Putra Mas has the ambition to do his "job". Hopefully Pak Boon and he will be successful.
 
ZCChip said:
Thanks for the clarification. I am glad that Putra Mas has the ambition to do his "job". Hopefully Pak Boon and he will be successful.
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Considering Pak Boon is a proven natural breeder and socially competent female, Putra Mas stands the best possible chance of breeding with her. He only has one surviving offspring (a seven year old daughter), so it would be hugely beneficial to see his founder genes passed on once again.

If all else fails, at least he’s trained in AI.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Considering Pak Boon is a proven natural breeder and socially competent female, Putra Mas stands the best possible chance of breeding with her. He only has one surviving offspring (a seven year old daughter), so it would be hugely beneficial to see his founder genes passed on once again.

If all else fails, at least he’s trained in AI.
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There are a number of channel 9 videos of the elephants arrival at Monarto zoo
 
Zorro said:
There are a number of channel 9 videos of the elephants arrival at Monarto zoo
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Yes, the media coverage has been fantastic - and the updates from the zoos were appreciated as always. We can surely look forward to continued coverage of the introductions, which I know many of us are looking forward to. The cows have visual/tactile contact with each other and hopefully it won’t be long before face to face introductions are possible.

Monarto have also announced the arrival of the cows:

Tang Mo and Pak Boon have arrived! - Monarto Safari Park
 
Jambo said:
Yes, that's why Taronga planned a large extended elephant designed trail that would connect the cow facilities to the bull facilities. That would've allowed the cows to access the bull far easier and without needing to be walked/transported across the zoo to breed.
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The overhead passes would have been a real asset to Taronga Zoo had they gone ahead with it. They’re undeniably the zoo’s high profile species (followed by gorillas and tigers) and seeing a world class network of trails traversing the zoo would have been befitting a zoo of Taronga’s prestige.

It’s difficult to say whether Taronga would ever function as a bachelor holding for elephants (I’m inclined to say they’ll stick with Indian rhinoceros); but the option is potentially there a decade or two from now to reassess. Otherwise, breeding at Dubbo will continue to be restricted unless they can figure out a significant expansion of their facilities. This new herd barn can’t come soon enough.

It’s my opinion that expanded elephant facilities should be a much greater priority for Dubbo then this massive
savannah they’re planning.
 
Zoofan15 said:
The overhead passes would have been a real asset to Taronga Zoo had they gone ahead with it. They’re undeniably the zoo’s high profile species (followed by gorillas and tigers) and seeing a world class network of trails traversing the zoo would have been befitting a zoo of Taronga’s prestige.

It’s difficult to say whether Taronga would ever function as a bachelor holding for elephants (I’m inclined to say they’ll stick with Indian rhinoceros); but the option is potentially there a decade or two from now to reassess. Otherwise, breeding at Dubbo will continue to be restricted unless they can figure out a significant expansion of their facilities. This new herd barn can’t come soon enough.

It’s my opinion that expanded elephant facilities should be a much greater priority for Dubbo then this massive
savannah they’re planning.
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Dubbo have the space to expand on a comparable level to Werribee, but that's ultimately depending on whether they want to invest in such facilities and expand into other space surrounding the current elephant complex.

If they don't, and just elect to continue with current facilities, a bachelor facility at Taronga would be incredibly useful for the future of Taronga's breeding program. A specifically designated bachelor facility will be needed in the next few decades as more and more bull calves are born.
 
Jambo said:
Dubbo have the space to expand on a comparable level to Werribee, but that's ultimately depending on whether they want to invest in such facilities and expand into other space surrounding the current elephant complex.

If they don't, and just elect to continue with current facilities, a bachelor facility at Taronga would be incredibly useful for the future of Taronga's breeding program. A specifically designated bachelor facility will be needed in the next few decades as more and more bull calves are born.
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With the amount of time and money also the mountain/paperwork of processing them invested with importing them, Plus building the exhibit at Taronga Zoo one would expect them to make wise choices with them, One can not expect Werribee to shoulder all the load into the future if they expect Asian elephants to continue into the future!
 
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Jambo said:
Dubbo have the space to expand on a comparable level to Werribee, but that's ultimately depending on whether they want to invest in such facilities and expand into other space surrounding the current elephant complex.

If they don't, and just elect to continue with current facilities, a bachelor facility at Taronga would be incredibly useful for the future of Taronga's breeding program. A specifically designated bachelor facility will be needed in the next few decades as more and more bull calves are born.
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Zorro said:
With the amount of time and money invested with importing them, Plus building the exhibit at Taronga Zoo one would expect them to make wise choices with them, One can not expect Werribee to shoulder all the load into the future if they expect Asian elephants to continue into the future!
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If all Monarto’s fences are built to bull containment standards (I’ve heard nothing to suggest they won’t be), then one possibility if they elect not to breed (or are unable to breed) is for Monarto to transition into a bachelor holding facility over the coming decades. Their cows are aged 26-43 and succession relies on Pak Boon producing daughters that survive to adulthood.

Even in the event Pak Boon breeds, but produces sons, this could become an option. Like you say, the region would benefit from a decent sized bachelor facility beyond what Sydney Zoo currently provides.
 
Zoofan15 said:
If all Monarto’s fences are built to bull containment standards (I’ve heard nothing to suggest they won’t be), then one possibility if they elect not to breed (or are unable to breed) is for Monarto to transition into a bachelor holding facility over the coming decades. Their cows are aged 26-43 and succession relies on Pak Boon producing daughters that survive to adulthood.

Even in the event Pak Boon breeds, but produces sons, this could become an option. Like you say, the region would benefit from a decent sized bachelor facility beyond what Sydney Zoo currently provides.
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Another option is "if" Werribee does continue to be successful breeding them they may wish to spit a couple of females and young off from the rest of the herd to kick start a breeding herd at Monarto just like Dublin zoo did when they sent two adult cows and calfs to the US.
 
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