Taronga Zoo Elephant Calves 2013
- Thread starter Lynx
- Start date
No it's quite separate and not visable to the females. The females are taken on daily walks around the zoo prior to opening and after closing for exercise. The visits are short (about 1-3hrs) and he is never left unsupervised with the calf. Due to the young ages of their calves and Pak Boon's health condition, they are not currently being considered for breeding. The zoo has high hopes for a successful mating between Gung and Thong Dee and Gung and Tang Mo in the near future. They are hoping to breed with **** Tip around December-January time.
whats wrong with Pak Boon
Pak Boon suffered a TB infection following the delivery of Tukta last November. Vet specialists believe that the birth of her calf ignited the disease which was already dormant in her system prior to importation as it had not previously showed up in the routine health and quarantine checks Pak Boon underwent.
My mate works at Taronga Zoo so if anyone has any questions, feel free to pass them on and I'll do my best to get back to you.
Can you ask him how Pak Boon's progress is going and if she is responding well to treatment?
Sure, I'll try and get that answered.
Of course I remember now
Was it because of space/terrain considerations they had to locate the Bull quarters in a different area from the main female group? As a result it seems the bull only has contact with other elephants for a short period during any particular day. Is this a shortcoming of the design layout?
Hey Guys,
First, Pak Boon's health: Pak Boon is doing well and is responding positively to treatment which is an encouraging sign. She will be on daily antibiotics until at least November to ensure they give her the best chance. The other elephants, including Pak Boon's 8 month old calf Tukta have tested negative for TB and there is no risk to the public at this stage. To ensure maximum public health and safety, precautions have been taken including barriers and restrictions.
Secondly, Gung's enclosure. Gung was relocated to his present exhibit due to both spacing considerations and the use of the historic elephant house, a heritage site as an intergrated part of his exhibition. In addition, the visual presence of Gung is not something replicated in the wild and Taronga Zoo has it's animals welfare at the forefront of all decisions made in exhibiting them in as natural condition as possible.
First, Pak Boon's health: Pak Boon is doing well and is responding positively to treatment which is an encouraging sign. She will be on daily antibiotics until at least November to ensure they give her the best chance. The other elephants, including Pak Boon's 8 month old calf Tukta have tested negative for TB and there is no risk to the public at this stage. To ensure maximum public health and safety, precautions have been taken including barriers and restrictions.
Secondly, Gung's enclosure. Gung was relocated to his present exhibit due to both spacing considerations and the use of the historic elephant house, a heritage site as an intergrated part of his exhibition. In addition, the visual presence of Gung is not something replicated in the wild and Taronga Zoo has it's animals welfare at the forefront of all decisions made in exhibiting them in as natural condition as possible.
I am pretty sure that the main reason the bull is so distant to the females (and therefore unable to see them) is because they wanted to utilize the old elephant exhibit (when Taronga housed a pair of elderly elephants, both sent to the larger Western Plains Zoo of which the male died) as it is a heritage building and they are unable to knock it down.
I have seen that building/enclosure. Is the Bull's accomodation essentially that area? Presumably the actual house isn't what he lives in though- or has it been modified inside?
I've only just realised that he lives entirely seperately from the females, so doesn't have contact with other Elephants for most of the time- apart from the short 'contact' visits. I don't know anywhere else that breeds Elephants that have a design like that.
They built an enormous new house for him, and expanded the land area a little. The old Elephant Temple is now a museum the public can walk through and see photos of the building and occupants through the ages.
There are photos of the temple, the new building and the enclosure in the Taronga gallery.
Hix
There are photos of the temple, the new building and the enclosure in the Taronga gallery.
Hix
There are photos of the temple, the new building and the enclosure in the Taronga gallery.
Hix
Thanks. It looks like the original paddock I remember, but with new fencing etc.
Is the new house big enough to hold another bull to give him some company in the future e.g. one or more younger males/sons from the breeding group? It does seem sad and rather unnatural to think of him living alone most of his life except for occassional 'visits' from other herd members..
oz elephant
Member
yes there is room for another elephant or 2 to be housed in barn 
but it will be some time till he gets another room mate as Luk Chai is only 2 and Pathi Harn is 1 so for now he will just be visited by them. and it is a bit sad but he also has lot's of keeper interaction a few times i have been there to see gung having a play session with the keepers. i will post a pic later
but it will be some time till he gets another room mate as Luk Chai is only 2 and Pathi Harn is 1 so for now he will just be visited by them. and it is a bit sad but he also has lot's of keeper interaction a few times i have been there to see gung having a play session with the keepers. i will post a pic later I spoke to my friend again over the weekend regarding Gung's separation from the females and whether or not it would be replicated in the wild and it turns out that it would but it wouldn't if that makes sense.
In the wild, males stay with the herd until about 13-14 years of age as this is when they reach puberty. Gung reached puberty at a much younger age because he was born into an undernourished environment and his body formed (during his mother's pregnancy) to cope with those external conditions. Since coming to Australia, he has had a great nutritional diet and so his body has responded by kick starting puberty at a much earlier age.
The separation of Gung from the females was a decision made that was made on Gung's sexual maturity since there is no magical age.
In the wild, males stay with the herd until about 13-14 years of age as this is when they reach puberty. Gung reached puberty at a much younger age because he was born into an undernourished environment and his body formed (during his mother's pregnancy) to cope with those external conditions. Since coming to Australia, he has had a great nutritional diet and so his body has responded by kick starting puberty at a much earlier age.
The separation of Gung from the females was a decision made that was made on Gung's sexual maturity since there is no magical age.
Although Gung's location is far from ideal, we have to bear in mind that his arrival was not part of Plan A.
Taronga only agreed/had to take the bull when Auckland dropped out of the combined import.
Taronga's new elephant facility did not incorporate bull quarters because breeding, under the initial plan, was going to be done by AI.
Taronga only agreed/had to take the bull when Auckland dropped out of the combined import.
Taronga's new elephant facility did not incorporate bull quarters because breeding, under the initial plan, was going to be done by AI.
Ah. That does explain a lot. So they had to build additional accomodation which was not originally planned for and that explains pretty much the seperation issue. I do think having a bull, even under these conditions, is far preferable to not having one, not only for natural mating(and hopefully more female calves as a result), but also for the benefit of the cows and calves in the group, to have a bull in the vicinity, even if as in Taronga's case, interaction has to be on a limited basis.