I see, I do feel that if the time comes where Frankie officially lives alone or only with the other bulls and Phoebe still does not have any female calves, Columbus could then maintain Frankie as a breeding bull and instead move out Johnson or Raja if there are any space concerns for bulls.
I don't really see why this would be needed. Columbus is almost certianly going to expand their elephant complex before the next decade is out, and they have ample room to do so. It wouldn't surprise me if the end goal was to add bull barn (considering that they soon will have 4 males onsite) plus an additional yard or two. They're going to be essentially at capacity after just two more births anyway, which I'm sure will be happening potentially as soon as 2029 due to Phoebe's age.
Housing a bull as his natal facility into adult life isn't always a good choice. It is immensely valuable for bulls to move around facilities in order to gain maturity, confidence and experience. Should Frankie ever breed, I would be shocked if it was at Columbus.
My thoughts exactly. He's his father's only offspring, yes, but Hank himself has numerous close relatives in the population that are breeding right now (niece Mali, great-nephew Chuck, nieces Mable and Piper) who are either paired with more valuable bulls or have more genetic value themselves. Then when you couple that with two of his half brothers having unrepresented, wildborn fathers plus the strong potential for his mother to still have a few female calves yet...I'm not holding my breath on him being utilized.
I don't imagine there'll be application now - the focus should be on getting the current founders in Australia sufficiently represented before considering any overseas imports. But in a few decades time, I could definitely see imports being required.
A swap would be very likely imo. Roi Yim and Sabai are both essentially surplus to the region already, and both would be of great use to the US population.
Imo getting even Sabai into the region would be immensely beneficial for both regions. If a bull isn't needed straight away, then space is now open at Dubbo for another bull, bull calves, etc. Sabai would be a perfect fit for Miami to join Ongard as well. Despite their exhibit being far from top-tier, they do have capacity for an additional animal and I'm sure both bulls would thrive with each other's company.
I know I've said it countless times on here before but I'm still fairly sure the intention is for Miami to acquire cows. Melbourne keepers were still adamant that was the plan as of a few years back. It seems they're just waiting for old Nellie to pass on, before perhaps doing some renovations to increase barn space ect.
I'll be very interested to see whether Miami follows through with that plan. Their barn is really far from suitable for more than a small breeding group, so expansions would almost have to be in order if they hope to breed longterm. Having both Sabai and Ongard onsite would be beneficial. Both for company and as a backup in the case Ongard fails to pick up on natural breeding behaviors, as Sabai should be familiar and likely wouldn't struggle if given the chance.
As of a few years ago he was in training to be a potential donor. It is very possible he is fully trained now!
Houston's is theoretically the only one that springs to mind. White Oak/Endangered Ark are the only other possibilities imo if they elect to cooperate with the AZA. Same goes for Charlie Grey's herd.
Even though he's been grouped with both Dahlip (Miami's old bull) and Nellie together, I'm not sure whether he got the opportunity to witness the right behaviours from Dahlip who was old in his own right. The intention was for him to serve as a mentor for Ongard, although I'm not sure how well that went.
He was essentially fully trained last I heard. There's long been talk of utilising him for AI.
Agreed, hence why I didn't list him in my contenders below the list. The list is just bull calves within SSP grasp that I think could be transfered, not necessarily ones I think have the best breeding application.