African Elephants in Europe 2025

The living cow has never reproduced and the bull is from the Ramat Gan program where there are already so many Yossi offspring so he’s probably considered surplus. Maybe someone will have insight.

No additional insight but I also think the bull is not needed, plus the two cows are/were very unlikely to breed. A German fansite was mentioning Duisburg's three cows as possibility for Poznan. Duisburg wants to get rid off them since quite a while and Poznan apparently has enough space. This would not be a breeding position for Poznan but at least they would have a larger group on display.
 
In 2026, the African elephant cow Pori will move back to Tierpark Berlin – together with her daughter Tana and Tana’s three young, Tamika, Elani, and Simon from Zoo Halle.

Source: Tierpark Berlin

Some more information about the move:

Tana's daughter Tamika has now reached sexual maturity, which means that the group now has two breeding cows. However, the stables in Halle do not have room for any more animals. Even the planned expansion of the outdoor enclosure will not change this. Therefore, in consultation with the EEP and Tierpark Berlin, it has been decided to move them to Berlin.

What the long-term future in Halle will look like is still unclear at this point. New elephants can only arrive once the construction work has been completed. The opening of the completely redesigned area, which includes the elephant enclosure, is planned for spring 2029.

Source: Wegen Umbauarbeiten: Elefanten verlassen den Bergzoo Halle Richtung Berlin – Du bist Halle
 
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In 2026, the African elephant cow Pori will move back to Tierpark Berlin – together with her daughter Tana and Tana’s three young, Tamika, Elani, and Simon from Zoo Halle.

Source: Tierpark Berlin

Some more information about the move:

Tana's daughter Tamika has now reached sexual maturity, which means that the group now has two breeding cows. However, the stables in Halle do not have room for any more animals. Even the planned expansion of the outdoor enclosure will not change this. Therefore, in consultation with the EEP and Tierpark Berlin, it has been decided to move them to Berlin.

What the long-term future in Halle will look like is still unclear at this point. New elephants can only arrive once the construction work has been completed. The opening of the completely redesigned area, which includes the elephant enclosure, is planned for spring 2029.

Source: Wegen Umbauarbeiten: Elefanten verlassen den Bergzoo Halle Richtung Berlin – Du bist Halle
So it looks like Halle might not phase out elephants permanently since they're building a sizeable enclosure to open in the next few years from now. If the expanded enclosure and barn CANNOT accommodate a large breeding troop, then switching to housing bachelor herds ia certainly possible.
 
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So it looks like Halle might not phase out elephants permanently since they're building a sizeable enclosure to open in the next few years from now. If the expanded enclosure and barn CANNOT accommodate a large breeding troop, then switching to housing bachelor herds ia certainly possible.

Makes sense on the one hand (or a group of old females) but I don't think they re-build without the intention of having a breeding group. Plus they doubtlessly are a proven breeder - not many can say this regarding African elephants in Europe :)
 
Makes sense on the one hand (or a group of old females) but I don't think they re-build without the intention of having a breeding group. Plus they doubtlessly are a proven breeder - not many can say this regarding African elephants in Europe :)
Well the reason i' not sure about breeding herds is bc the article didn't specify expanding and modernizing the barn, which would be the only surefire way to keep large growing herds going forwards. At least they plan on doubling the outdoor yards.
 
I am wondering why Pori keeps bouncing around? Can anyone tell the reason?
Well to be fair, it’s not exactly bouncing around. Yes, she moved around a bit as a young animal, but had spent her entire adult life in Berlin until moving to rejoin her family in Halle. While yes, she is yet again moving to Berlin, it is with her family and due to facility needs, not social reasons. There are many animals with far worse transfer histories.
 
Well to be fair, it’s not exactly bouncing around. Yes, she moved around a bit as a young animal, but had spent her entire adult life in Berlin until moving to rejoin her family in Halle. While yes, she is yet again moving to Berlin, it is with her family and due to facility needs, not social reasons. There are many animals with far worse transfer histories.

thanks for the clarification. I didn’t ask to be critical but to understand.
 
The Valencia Bioparc has worked with a sister organization, Fundación BIOPARC, to collect semen from several wild bulls in the Selati Game Reserve. Of the collected samples, there are 250 frozen genetic doses able to be used in the future. With this in mind, it's quite possible that Valcenia's two calves, Makena and Malik have wild sires.
Fundación BIOPARC on Instagram: "❄️ Proyecto Frozen Dumbo III: preservando el futuro del elefante africano En Fundación BIOPARC hemos participado en uno de los proyectos más importantes a nivel internacional para asegurar la supervivencia genética del elefante africano de sabana, una especie cada vez más amenazada. En 2023 nos unimos a un equipo internacional de expertos para recopilar, en la reserva de Selati (Sudáfrica), nuevas muestras genéticas de elefantes salvajes, esenciales para revitalizar las poblaciones coordinadas bajo el programa europeo EAZA @eaza_official. El resultado de esta misión: 25 elefantes localizados, 7 machos con semen viable y 250 dosis genéticas congeladas, listas para garantizar durante años la diversidad y la salud de los elefantes en los parques europeos, sin extraer animales de la naturaleza y sin comprometer las poblaciones salvajes. Este proyecto representa ciencia, conservación y cooperación internacional al servicio de una especie clave. Si quieres formar parte de este impacto real, ayúdanos. Haz tu donación www.fundacionbioparc.org/dona #FundacionBIOPARC #FrozenDumbo #Elefantes #Conservacion #Biodiversidad #Sudafrica #EAZA #ProteccionAnimal #CienciaParaConservar #DonaPorLaNaturaleza"
 
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28-year-old African elephant bull Niko died suddenly yesterday at Zoo d'Amnéville. In the early afternoon, noticeable changes in his behaviour were observed. His condition deteriorated rapidly: he suffered from balance disorders, fell and eventually fell into a semi-comatose state. Despite medical efforts, he died in the evening. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.

Source: Facebook Zoo d'Amnéville
 
28-year-old African elephant bull Niko died suddenly yesterday at Zoo d'Amnéville. In the early afternoon, noticeable changes in his behaviour were observed. His condition deteriorated rapidly: he suffered from balance disorders, fell and eventually fell into a semi-comatose state. Despite medical efforts, he died in the evening. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.

Source: Facebook Zoo d'Amnéville
What is the future for their program?
 
Absolutely spectacular news for Beauval!

Unfortunately, on the coattails of that high, is some rather sad news. The 43 year old bull Jums has passed away at Cabarceno after an altercation with another bull at the facility (most likely his adult son, Junmar. I highly doubt the 13 year old Martin would be the offender). A very sad loss, but Jums leaves behind a legacy of numerous surviving offspring and grand offspring. This leaves Cabarceno with just one fully mature bull, 28 year old Junmar, along with 13 year old Martin. It will be interesting to see if Junmar ends up siring any offspring now that he will be the de facto dominant bull at the facility. I have seen pictures and videos of Martin breeding the other cows as well, so genetic testing will definitely still be warranted for any calves born there!
 
Absolutely spectacular news for Beauval!

Unfortunately, on the coattails of that high, is some rather sad news. The 43 year old bull Jums has passed away at Cabarceno after an altercation with another bull at the facility (most likely his adult son, Junmar. I highly doubt the 13 year old Martin would be the offender). A very sad loss, but Jums leaves behind a legacy of numerous surviving offspring and grand offspring. This leaves Cabarceno with just one fully mature bull, 28 year old Junmar, along with 13 year old Martin. It will be interesting to see if Junmar ends up siring any offspring now that he will be the de facto dominant bull at the facility. I have seen pictures and videos of Martin breeding the other cows as well, so genetic testing will definitely still be warranted for any calves born there!
Quite shocking news, but as mentioned, he has left a thriving legacy of numerous descendants. One can only hope that Junmar ends up siring calves. Every calf born since 2020 has been inbred, so I suspect that Martin will soon transfer elsewhere if these matings turn out to be successful, and even Junmar himself should eventually be transferred elsewhere, as his two youngest half-sisters are fast approaching reproductive age.
 
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