Australian Asian Elephant Population 2025

Its going to really interesting to follow the current herd at Werribee zoo over first the next 5 years and every 5 years after that since the last cohort of calfs, with the two young females shows much promise into the future generations also another important step is what the next cohort of calfs bring hopefully more cow calfs.

The next point of interest for myself is who will be brought in as the next breeding bull, The way the two young bulls at the Sydney zoo are shaping up its quite likely to be one of these two.

One thing keeps coming to mind is if the elephant managers at Werribee will/can consider using the Perth bull and introduce his genes into the herd?, Since Monarto is much closer than Perth to Werribee makes the shipping of any chilled semen an even better option, hopefully they will at least consider this, from what I can see the elephant management have made one good move after the other I hold out real hope for this herd as the best ever managed herd in the country!
 
Zorro said:
Its going to really interesting to follow the current herd at Werribee zoo over first the next 5 years and every 5 years after that since the last cohort of calfs, with the two young females shows much promise into the future generations also another important step is what the next cohort of calfs bring hopefully more cow calfs.

The next point of interest for myself is who will be brought in as the next breeding bull, The way the two young bulls at the Sydney zoo are shaping up its quite likely to be one of these two.

One thing keeps coming to mind is if the elephant managers at Werribee will/can consider using the Perth bull and introduce his genes into the herd?, Since Monarto is much closer than Perth to Werribee makes the shipping of any chilled semen an even better option, hopefully they will at least consider this, from what I can see the elephant management have made one good move after the other I hold out real hope for this herd as the best ever managed herd in the country!
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I agree a bull from Sydney Zoo transferring to Werribee Open Range Zoo in the future is the strongest possibility based on the relatedness of Gung, Pathi Harn, Sabai etc to the Werribee herd.

How Putra Mas performs as breeding bull at Monarto will determine a lot going forward. If he shows no inclination to mount Pak Boon (a proven natural breeder), then his sole contribution to the future of the breeding programme can be expected to be via AI. That could well be undertaken at Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Confirmed AI trained (viable) cows in Australasia:

0.1 Porntip (1992) Dubbo
0.1 Dokkoon (1993) Werribee
0.1 Num-Oi (2001) Werribee
0.1 Anjalee (2006) Dubbo

It’s my assumption that Putra Mas will remain at Monarto for the rest of his life given his age (and the difficulties in the past in crate training him); but if he and Pak Boon breed naturally and two surviving daughters are produced within the decade, I wouldn’t totally rule out a swap between Luk Chai/Putra Mas a decade from now (with the Sydney bulls remaining where they are).
 
Zoofan15 said:
I agree a bull from Sydney Zoo transferring to Werribee Open Range Zoo in the future is the strongest possibility based on the relatedness of Gung, Pathi Harn, Sabai etc to the Werribee herd.

How Putra Mas performs as breeding bull at Monarto will determine a lot going forward. If he shows no inclination to mount Pak Boon (a proven natural breeder), then his sole contribution to the future of the breeding programme can be expected to be via AI. That could well be undertaken at Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Confirmed AI trained (viable) cows in Australasia:

0.1 Porntip (1992) Dubbo
0.1 Dokkoon (1993) Werribee
0.1 Num-Oi (2001) Werribee
0.1 Anjalee (2006) Dubbo

It’s my assumption that Putra Mas will remain at Monarto for the rest of his life given his age (and the difficulties in the past in crate training him); but if he and Pak Boon breed naturally and two surviving daughters are produced within the decade, I wouldn’t totally rule out a swap between Luk Chai/Putra Mas a decade from now (with the Sydney bulls remaining where they are).
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I agree with your points but I really can't see Putra Mas ever leaving Monarto once he gets there, I believe AI is going to be the better option for Werribee if they want to breed from him, at this point I only hope for a successful move for him to Monarto very soon!
 
Jambo said:
There's a possibility Mali *may* have at least begun training too, especially considering Melbourne were planning to AI their cows back in 2018 utilising Gung's semen.
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It’s possible, though my assumption has always been the plan was for Mali (and possibly Num-Oi) to mate naturally with the new breeding bull once at Werribee.

The elephant complex may have opened 2025, but this was 2-3 years later than originally planned. Delaying Num-Oi and Mali breeding until 2022/2023 would have been perfectly safe versus Dokkoon (the assumed recipient of that AI attempt), who hadn’t calved since 2013.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I was told the new barn was 3-5 years away in 2022, but it’s nowhere near close to being built, so I’d say minimum of three years away at this point. It’s reliant on funding, which has yet to be confirmed for this project.

Barn 1 (three stalls) was built in 1977 for the 1.4 young African elephants. It holds the matriarchal herd. Porntip and Kanlaya in one stall; Thong Dee in the second; and Anjalee in the third.

Barn 2 (two stalls) was built ahead of the arrival of the 1.1 African elephants in 1983 and is currently empty.

Barn 3 (three stalls) was built in 2014. It currently holds Gung, Pathi Harn and Sabai.

The issue is like you say, with the stalls. If Porntip and Thong Dee produced bull calves, these would need to transfer across to the bull facility and there’s no additional room there. It would however help if they could bring the second barn into use. Obviously it wouldn’t be desirable to split the matriarchal herd; but it could at least be useful for managing the transition of bull calves out the matriarchal herd.

Syndey Zoo have two paddocks, so wouldn’t be interested in taking on an additional bull. Their pair get on well for the time being, but they’re adolescents and there’s no way of knowing how their relationship will progress. They’ll also need to be kept separate during musth.
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Just confirmed via email - the girls are currently housed in the newer barn (Barn Three). The boys occasionally go in for trainings occasionally, and in fact Gung spends a lot of time in the adjacent BTS paddock.

I'll see if I can get a further response as to if Barn Two is currently occupied or not - and get confirmation as to how many stalls specifically are in each of the other two barns.
 
Jambo said:
Just confirmed via email - the girls are currently housed in the newer barn (Barn Three). The boys occasionally go in for trainings occasionally, and in fact Gung spends a lot of time in the adjacent BTS paddock.

I'll see if I can get a further response as to if Barn Two is currently occupied or not - and get confirmation as to how many stalls specifically are in each of the other two barns.
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That’s interesting. The new barn was originally built to house the bulls, so the bulls and cows switched at some stage. Presumably the new barn offers better flow between the stalls (beneficial to the cows for observing births etc). Anjalee is due the first week of December, so we can expect her to give birth in this barn.

Last I heard, the oldest barn (1977) was three stalls and the barn (1983) was two stalls. I’m wondering if the former was originally four (or more) stalls to accommodate the original herd of 1.3 elephants, with two or more of these stalls merged over the years to create three larger stalls.

Gung is also kept in the BTS paddock when in musth as he’s been known to throw projectiles at people (as is common for bulls in musth).
 
I know this is an Asian thread but I am curious. Are there any living Africans in Australia? Any traveling circuses with elephants?
 
Zoofan15 said:
That’s interesting. The new barn was originally built to house the bulls, so the bulls and cows switched at some stage. Presumably the new barn offers better flow between the stalls (beneficial to the cows for observing births etc). Anjalee is due the first week of December, so we can expect her to give birth in this barn.

Last I heard, the oldest barn (1977) was three stalls and the barn (1983) was two stalls. I’m wondering if the former was originally four (or more) stalls to accommodate the original herd of 1.3 elephants, with two or more of these stalls merged over the years to create three larger stalls.

Gung is also kept in the BTS paddock when in musth as he’s been known to throw projectiles at people (as is common for bulls in musth).
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The last I know of the bulls being housed there was back when Luk Chai was still on site, prior to his transfer down to Melbourne in 2020. A photo of Anjalee's arrival in 2022 clearly shows her in that same barn, so it seems that sometime in 2021 ish the swap was made. I don't know whether they were swapped again, or whether they've been housed there for that period.

I'm trying to find the doco of Arna and Gigi's arrival from Stardust in 2008, as from what I can recall it has great footage of the newer, 1983 barn. I shared a photo of the oldest elephant barn a few pages back on this thread, and it's difficult to imagine three bulls squeezed into there - so I'm wondering whether barn two is indeed currently in use. Anyhow, if Anjalee's calf is a male, they'll have to make use of it sooner rather than later.
 
Jambo said:
The last I know of the bulls being housed there was back when Luk Chai was still on site, prior to his transfer down to Melbourne in 2020. A photo of Anjalee's arrival in 2022 clearly shows her in that same barn, so it seems that sometime in 2021 ish the swap was made. I don't know whether they were swapped again, or whether they've been housed there for that period.

I'm trying to find the doco of Arna and Gigi's arrival from Stardust in 2008, as from what I can recall it has great footage of the newer, 1983 barn. I shared a photo of the oldest elephant barn a few pages back on this thread, and it's difficult to imagine three bulls squeezed into there - so I'm wondering whether barn two is indeed currently in use. Anyhow, if Anjalee's calf is a male, they'll have to make use of it sooner rather than later.
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The two stall barn would be useful for separation of the bulls during musth. Both Luk Chai and Pathi Harn used to show reluctant to enter areas Gung used while in musth and were understandably wary of him during this time. Obviously the bulls would have their own stalls within the three stall barn, but they’d still be in close proximity to one another.

It would honestly be so beneficial all round if Anjalee’s calf is a female. Not just logistically, but genetically. Bearing in mind this calf will be 2-3 decades younger than the founder cows we have in the region, they’ll likely be retired from breeding by the time he’s 10-15 years of age. That would leave Mali (if not retired) and Kanlaya as his only breeding options within the current Australian population. Compare this to a bull calf of Putra Mas and Pak Boon, who would be a match for any viable cow in the region bar his mother and Kanlaya.

It’s unfortunate that it seems likely Dokkoon (founder) and Num-Oi (founder) will be retired after what will be their fourth calves (sired by Luk Chai). If they could have calves with either Putra Mas (founder) or the Sydney bulls (founders), said calves would have so many more applications to the breeding programme.
 
ZCChip said:
Any traveling circuses with elephants?
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The last performing/travelling ones were back in the mid 2000's - however following the death of a trainer, the last two were retired to Dubbo and the others were retired within the circus (at private facilities).

By 2000 the last facilities with circus elephants were; Ashtons, Lennon Brothers (owned by Bullens) and Stardust.

Ashtons had three cows - Abu, Tanya and Gigi.

Lennon Brothers also had three cows - Bimbo, Siam and Sabu.

And Stardust had a single cow - Arna.

Both these facilities retired their cows in Queensland. Ashton's rotated properties there, Abu dying in 2001 and Tanya in 2003. That same year, following Tanya's death, Gigi was sent to Stardust to join their sole cow, Arna.

Arna was from Perry Bros which closed in 1993, and sold to Lennons which became Stardust. They elected to retire their other cows on a privately owned site in NSW upon closure. There was four - Ginny (died unc.2006), Sheba (died unc.2007), Minyak (die unc. 2009) and Saigon who was transferred to Sydney in 2019.

As was mentioned, Stardust sent Arna and Gigi to Dubbo in 2008. They were the last official circus elephants in Australia.

Two of Australia Zoo's cows passed in 2013, leading to Sabu being retired to her owners at Bullens where she passed in early 2019. Saigon was transferred to Sydney later that same year, so she was the last official privately owned elephant in Australasia.

There was also Mila, the last African Elephant apart of a circus in NZ. She was retired to Franklin Zoo in 2009, and then onto San Diego in 2013 where she sadly passed in 2017.
 
Zoofan15 said:
The two stall barn would be useful for separation of the bulls during musth. Both Luk Chai and Pathi Harn used to show reluctant to enter areas Gung used while in musth and were understandably wary of him during this time. Obviously the bulls would have their own stalls within the three stall barn, but they’d still be in close proximity to one another.

It would honestly be so beneficial all round if Anjalee’s calf is a female. Not just logistically, but genetically. Bearing in mind this calf will be 2-3 decades younger than the founder cows we have in the region, they’ll likely be retired from breeding by the time he’s 10-15 years of age. That would leave Mali (if not retired) and Kanlaya as his only breeding options within the current Australian population. Compare this to a bull calf of Putra Mas and Pak Boon, who would be a match for any viable cow in the region bar his mother and Kanlaya.

It’s unfortunate that it seems likely Dokkoon (founder) and Num-Oi (founder) will be retired after what will be their fourth calves (sired by Luk Chai). If they could have calves with either Putra Mas (founder) or the Sydney bulls (founders), said calves would have so many more applications to the breeding programme.
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I imagine that is indeed the case, as the stalls (especially in the older barn) are indeed in quite close proximity. Not to mention, each bull would also be in full view of each other which can be unsettling for adult bulls. Most zoos these days design their bull facilities where there's no line of sight - to lower stress ect. And in fact the newer barn (built in 2014) accommodates this, with sliding doors separating the three pens.

Num Oi only has one daughter currently so it'll be interesting to see what they elect to do after the next cohort. Dokkoon, with two daughters and a grandson, is almost guaranteed to be retired, especially at her age. Num Oi, however would be only much younger. If she has a son, I'd say there's a very good chance she'd be allowed to conceive again, for another daughter. If that's the case, that calf would likely be sired by the next breeding bull; likely one of the Sydney brothers. A son from Num Oi and Kavi/Ashoka would have great value regionally.
 
Jambo said:
I imagine that is indeed the case, as the stalls (especially in the older barn) are indeed in quite close proximity. Not to mention, each bull would also be in full view of each other which can be unsettling for adult bulls. Most zoos these days design their bull facilities where there's no line of sight - to lower stress ect. And in fact the newer barn (built in 2014) accommodates this, with sliding doors separating the three pens.

Num Oi only has one daughter currently so it'll be interesting to see what they elect to do after the next cohort. Dokkoon, with two daughters and a grandson, is almost guaranteed to be retired, especially at her age. Num Oi, however would be only much younger. If she has a son, I'd say there's a very good chance she'd be allowed to conceive again, for another daughter. If that's the case, that calf would likely be sired by the next breeding bull; likely one of the Sydney brothers. A son from Num Oi and Kavi/Ashoka would have great value regionally.
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Like you say, I’d anticipate the gender of Num-Oi’s calf could well have an influence on whether she’s retired after her next calf (which may or may not be her second surviving daughter).

If Num-Oi does breed again after that, it’d be interesting to see how that’s managed with Mali presumably breeding a third (and possibly final) time and Aiyara and Kati having their first calves. It would be beneficial for the latter two to have one more opportunity to observe the birth/rearing of calves (in addition to what they’ll observe at circa 5-7 years old).

The rotation could therefore be Num-Oi/Mali calving a year before Aiyara/Kati; or trying to align matrilines with Num-Oi/Kati and Mali/Aiyara calving together a year apart. It’s clear Aiyara and Roi-Yim are often grouped together via their mothers being from the same matriline, so it would be nice to replicate this via the latter option.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Like you say, I’d anticipate the gender of Num-Oi’s calf could well have an influence on whether she’s retired after her next calf (which may or may not be her second surviving daughter).

If Num-Oi does breed again after that, it’d be interesting to see how that’s managed with Mali presumably breeding a third (and possibly final) time and Aiyara and Kati having their first calves. It would be beneficial for the latter two to have one more opportunity to observe the birth/rearing of calves (in addition to what they’ll observe at circa 5-7 years old).

The rotation could therefore be Num-Oi/Mali calving a year before Aiyara/Kati; or trying to align matrilines with Num-Oi/Kati and Mali/Aiyara calving together a year apart. It’s clear Aiyara and Roi-Yim are often grouped together via their mothers being from the same matriline, so it would be nice to replicate this via the latter option.
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I do think we'll end up seeing Werribee having the next cohort circa 2028/2029, which will allow Aiyara and Kati to be of perfect age to witness and be apart of the raising process of the next cohort. Having a cohort of four after would then be great to see - and something that's never been achieved before in an Australasian facility.

If they do end up going with the split option, I actually thinking splitting up the cows and going Num Oi/Mali first would work better. It would allow Num Oi to then be able to support Kati once she calves, instead of focusing on her own calf at the same time.
 
Jambo said:
I do think we'll end up seeing Werribee having the next cohort circa 2028/2029, which will allow Aiyara and Kati to be of perfect age to witness and be apart of the raising process of the next cohort. Having a cohort of four after would then be great to see - and something that's never been achieved before in an Australasian facility.

If they do end up going with the split option, I actually thinking splitting up the cows and going Num Oi/Mali first would work better. It would allow Num Oi to then be able to support Kati once she calves, instead of focusing on her own calf at the same time.
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I agree. I believe we’ll see a second cohort of three calves born to Dokkoon, Num-Oi and Mali around 2028, followed by another cohort around 5-7 years later.

It’s entirely possible Aiyara and Kati won’t breed until their early teens (as is the current plan for Kanlaya). While I was glad to see Mali have her first calf at 12 years of age, I suspect the original plan was for her (and possibly Num-Oi) to conceive 2023, when the herd moved to Werribee (the original opening date was planned to be 2023) and they had a bull on site. This would have seen her deliver her first calf at 15 years of age. As we know, Melbourne received Luk Chai and with a bull on site, there was little to no justification in delaying Mali breeding.

If the next cohort is delivered 2028/2029, then Aiyara and Kati would be 13-14 years old seven years later, which would be good timing. I’m inclined to believe they’d want the four calves close together (within 12-18 months), but not necessarily within the space of a few months. Staggering them in duos, 12-18 months apart would be ideal, but of course depends on timing. They were remarkably lucky to have all three cows conceive to Luk Chai on the first cycle, carry those calves to term and deliver live calves.
 
Putra Mas - Crate Training

Perth Zoo have shared a video of one of Putra Mas’ crate training sessions. The fact he has progressed to entering the crate and having the door closed behind him is testament to over a year of perseverance from his keepers, for which they should be commended.

All going well, the move is hopefully still on for early November.

9.3K views · 415 reactions | Putra Mas really makes crate training a breeze! Every day, our wonderful elephant carers take him through a session to prep him for his jumbo journey across to his forever home at Monarto Safari Park. We’re always working on elephant time and don’t have an exact move date just yet, but we’re aiming towards early November if you’d like to come and say goodbye! | Perth Zoo
 
Zoofan15 said:
Putra Mas - Crate Training

Perth Zoo have shared a video of one of Putra Mas’ crate training sessions. The fact he has progressed to entering the crate and having the door closed behind him is testament to over a year of perseverance from his keepers, for which they should be commended.

All going well, the move is hopefully still on for early November.

9.3K views · 415 reactions | Putra Mas really makes crate training a breeze! Every day, our wonderful elephant carers take him through a session to prep him for his jumbo journey across to his forever home at Monarto Safari Park. We’re always working on elephant time and don’t have an exact move date just yet, but we’re aiming towards early November if you’d like to come and say goodbye! | Perth Zoo
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Putra Mas - Prediction of Transfer Day

I thought it’d be interesting to compare the transfer days of the previous elephants that were transferred to Monarto Safari Park to see if there were any trends to predict when Perth Zoo might transfer their bull.

Burma:

Departed November 12, 2024 (Tue)
Arrived November 12, 2024 (Tue)

Permai:

Departed January 27, 2025 (Mon)
Arrived January 29, 2025 (Wed)

Pak Boon and Tang Mo:

Departed April 29, 2025 (Tue)
Arrived April 30, 2025 (Wed)

There’s a couple of trends here:

All the elephants transferred in from Australian zoos arrived on Wednesday; but more specifically, all three sending zoos avoided transferring out their elephants on weekend days (for obvious reasons).

With this in mind, my first prediction of transfer dates is that Putra Mas will depart Perth Zoo on November 3 (Monday) and arrive November 5 (Wednesday); with my second prediction being that he will depart November 10 (Monday) and arrive November 12 (Wednesday). I’d be interested to hear others predictions!
 
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