Wonderful news can't wait to see the footage of him
Australian Asian Elephant Population 2025
- Thread starter Zoofan15
- Start date
He looks calm and relaxed, testament to his trust in the keepers and there months of training he underwent in preparation for this move.
This would be the bull barn, so hopefully once he’s settled in, we’ll get content of him meeting the cows.
Its good to see him at the other end after all the concerns about the trip looks like his appetite is normal
One has to give his keeper team full credit for him to make the trip and the high level of care he was given
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately it is a bit difficult in Australia's current state to accurately "predict" whether a bull will sire a male or female calf. There have been bulls in other regions that sire multiple males then pop a few females to even things back out, and whose to say that any of these bulls wouldn't do the same if given the same access to frequent breeding!
I will be very curious for the sex of Anjalee's calf this December. If male, it would certianly push Gung more towards a true bull-leaning ratio and may even earn him a retirement from breeding.
In the case of Zoos Victoria, the entire team relocated to work 45 minutes away at the Werribee site when the elephants left Melbourne Zoo.
In Monarto’s case, keepers have accompanied the elephants from Auckland, Perth and Taronga. All arrived on the agreement they’d stay until the elephants were settled in, with some then accepting permanent positions.
Most/all of the Taronga keepers are expected to return to care for Hari the Indian rhinoceros, who will be replacing Taronga’s elephants.
I agree. The sample sizes for gender ratio are small and so that limits conclusions that can be made. Similarly with giraffes, I’ve observed young bulls sire a succession of males; followed by a run of females in their middle age/senior years.
It was desirable to get Anjalee in calf sooner rather than later and Gung (a four time proven breeder) was their best bet for doing so. I’m of the opinion that consideration will be given to breeding her with Pathi Harn next time, now they have the luxury of time on their side. If Thong Dee is indeed to be retired from the breeding programme (it’s been nine years since she last calved), then Anjalee is the only cow Pathi Harn can breed with at Dubbo - with Porntip and Kanlaya being his mother and sister.
On site, Gung and Sabai are both matches for Kanlaya, who is currently planned to produce her first calf at 14 years.
There would be so many "ifs" involved with how this pans out it would be extremely difficult to say
That’s a good question.
If Putra Mas successfully breeds with Pak Boon, my assumption is they’ll focus solely on establishing a matriline around her. They’re a genetically valuable pair and any additional calves bred from a second female would just be taking up space that could be allocated to a more genetically valuable calf.
Regionally speaking, Thong Dee is the only suitable candidate for transfer - being both a free agent (not part of a matriline) and a viable cow.
And there are two young bulls at Sydney that can contribute to the daughters!
Indeed. Sydney Zoo have publicly stated their willingness to cooperate with the Australian breeding programme for Asian elephants, so it’d come as no surprise to see their Dublin bred bulls enter a breeding situation in years to come. Werribee is their other obvious application (once Luk Chai’s daughters are ready to breed).
Ultimately, I’m of the opinion a lot hinges on whether Putra Mas and Pak Boon can breed. Daughters would be retained to build up a matriline at Monarto (detracting from their ability to receive surplus bulls in the future from within the region); while sons would supersede other bulls in the region in genetic value and surely be in demand at the other open range zoos (especially Werribee).
Going by some of the resent pics seen here lately both boys appear to be shaping up nicely I would expect one or both to be brought into the breeding population in the future
It’ll be fascinating to see how this is undertaken. Melbourne’s keepers were of the opinion that Luk Chai would remain on site long term as a mentor bull (following his retirement from breeding), so one possibility is the Sydney bulls (or one of them) would be loaned for 18 months or so. They have a strong bond now, but as they mature, they may require separate housing and loaning one out wouldn’t be an issue.
I remain of the opinion that a son of Putra Mas would be more valuable, but there’s no possibility of one being born until at least late 2027 and Aiyara and Kati will be 4-5 years old by then. Something will be needed in the interim unless their reproduction is delayed until their mid-teens (when Putra Mas has a 10 year old son if one is indeed produced).
At least Werribee had the foresight to build two seperate bull yards and housing to keep two adult bulls at the same time they seemed to have everything covered
It was an excellent idea that will also enable the bulls to be housed off display during musth.
The concept was based around a treeline shielding the bull’s sight of each other to reduce stress/aggression. I’m hopeful with Luk Chai acting as mentor, a cohesive bachelor herd can be held for most of the year (when he isn’t in musth).
Yet another new video from Perth zoo 2 hours ago on FB showing Putra Mas in the barn with his keeper @Zoofan15