Perth Zoo Origin of Perth's elephants

when I saw Perth's elephants some years ago, I did notice they were the hairiest elephants I'd ever seen- and I've seen a few.....
 
very attractive, the one with the beatles cut reminds me of the little elephant in disney's "the jungle book"...

of the 10-15 bornean elephants i saw, none were particularly hairy animals and the tails appeared longer than that of the bull in the photographs you linked to jurek. all the borneo animals i saw had tails (ignoring bristles/hairs) who's tips literally sat maybe three or four centimeters off the ground. the bushy hairs actually did "sweep" the ground.

i was under the belief that perth's younger elephants all came from peninsular malaysia, like bong-su and mek kapah at melbourne, making them true mainland elephants.
 
patrick said:
i was under the belief that perth's younger elephants all came from peninsular malaysia, like bong-su and mek kapah at melbourne, making them true mainland elephants.
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They somehow looked rather 'different' to me from all the other Asiatics I've seen over the years. Smaller, hairier, darker, a slightly different shape perhaps- I don't know... but then I've seen very few Malaysian elephants and so I'm not familiar with their apperance-maybe all young Malaysian elephants look like that?
 
its interesting that you say perth's elephants are hairier than most. one of the not-so-recognised subspecies of elephant is Elephas maximus hirsutus of peninsular malaysia.

obviously its long been recognised that elephants from this small region have a full head of hair!

mek kapah and bong su are peninsular malayan in origin. kapah is a dark skinned, hairy elephant. check out the photos of her on the melbourne zoo website or in the gallery forum. i'de be interested if you think she bears a resemblance to the elephants at perth.
 
no - but i think its getting desperate.

their younger female is well into breeding age now and still not falling pregnant. she both mates with the bull and has been AI'd to no avail...
 
breeding loans, my friend. the bull at perth is very important to the breeding program so no doubt a few thai elephants will be heading over there eventually.
 
It's a conncern that the cow is not becoming pregnant, especially as social and biologically she and the bull are doing everything right. I assume that the zoo has checked her out and all is ok with her reproductive system. If I remember rightly the bull has been checked out and is viable.
 
jay said:
It's a conncern that the cow is not becoming pregnant, especially as social and biologically she and the bull are doing everything right. I assume that the zoo has checked her out and all is ok with her reproductive system. If I remember rightly the bull has been checked out and is viable.
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jay,

Indeed a cause for concern here. I wish that someone could fill us in on the reproductive viability of Permai (19).

Regarding the entire Perth herd: 1.2 individuals with Putra Mas (19) and an elderly female in Tricia (51). Sadly, Teduh died earlier in May 2007 (history of medical issues). I feel that the herd structure needs to be improved. I would add on 1-2 more reproductive age females. How does that hold up in terms of enclosure space at Perth?

What is the current role for Tricia, is she the herd matriarch and does she act like one or ....?
 
As Glyn said on another thread the elephant area has expanded quite a bit in resent years, I agree bringing in another 1-2 more young females could be the best thing for Perths program and indeed the National herd
 
Coming back to the original question, I have seen the Borneo elephants in Hannover Zoo (Germany), Manari and Sayang, and Manari`s daugther whose father is of Sri Lanka origin but looks like her mother. While the Perth elephants certainly have a lot of hair, they don`t resemble the Borneo dwarf elephants in Hannover. Manari and Sayang are not that hairy (actually, of the Hannover herd, female Indra who originates from mainland Asia is the one with most hair!). Their tail is extremely long, they are of small size, and their head and ears are of different shape then all other elephants I have seen so far, including the Perth eles (which I only know from pictures, certainly). There is one other female from the Borneo subspecies in Oregon Zoo, USA, and from the pics I have seen, she looks 100% like Manari and Sayang. Same head and ear shape.
 
Yassa said:
Coming back to the original question, I have seen the Borneo elephants in Hannover Zoo (Germany), Manari and Sayang, and Manari`s daugther whose father is of Sri Lanka origin but looks like her mother. While the Perth elephants certainly have a lot of hair, they don`t resemble the Borneo dwarf elephants in Hannover. Their tail is extremely long, they are of small size, and their head and ears are of different shape then all other elephants I have seen so far, including the Perth eles (which I only know from pictures, certainly).
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Yassa. Do you have any pictures of these Hanover Bornean elephants? I've never seen photographs of this subspecies and in fact know very little about them.
Also; How long have Hanover had them and are they both females?
 
yassa - the bornean elephants i saw in borneo were not particularly hairy. however, it seems its been suggested elephants from peninsular malaysia are.

i'm not a fan of hybridising elephants in zoos. with the vast majority being of sri lankan/mainland origin, and the two forms considered by many to be one and the same, i would like zoos to avoid "polluting" mainland genetics with those of sumatran and bornean ancestry.
 
Yes, its a pity Hanover can't get a Bornean male- if they don't have one already. I'd like to see them bred seperately to any other elephants too.
 
patrick said:
yassa - the bornean elephants i saw in borneo were not particularly hairy. however, it seems its been suggested elephants from peninsular malaysia are.

i'm not a fan of hybridising elephants in zoos. with the vast majority being of sri lankan/mainland origin, and the two forms considered by many to be one and the same, i would like zoos to avoid "polluting" mainland genetics with those of sumatran and bornean ancestry.
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I am not a particular fan of this genetic pollution of island subspecies either. I suggest a totally different course of action: try and maintain world herds in captivity of both separate Sumatran and Bornean elephants. That would be a start. I know that at least on Sumatra many elephants are languishing since their original habitat has been cut. A spate in captivity for rogue elephants and breeding programme with (an eventual aim) of re-release to the wild in secure habitat is a project I would like the EEP (which has had the most success in breeding elephants in captivity) to take on this task.
 
I believe that the elephants in this video are Putra, Permai and Teduh. The video says that they are from the Melaka zoo.
 
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