ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnades new baby Elephant

MARK

MARK

Well-Known Member
On the Whipsnade zoo website there is a photo of its new baby boy Asian Elephant who went on show to the public on the 7th Feb, his a real cutie :)
 
Orange09 is right, its the same picture they've used before. A month(+) old calf would be too puny to play with a tyre like that....
 
What now is happening with their eles ? any new pregnant or arriving .... karishma arrved with out any notice ! and last summer there were plans to accept new females anyone know if true or no ! thnx
 
I think this thread is on about Donaldson (cute name :)), unless I missed a new birth...
 
Which one is that?
When is she due to give birth?
 
Great, thanks :)
 
yep i saw this lil one when i visited last, was very cute. i get so confused between the three youngsters lol! im sure there was a sign at the enclosure stating one of them was preganant ???
 
Pt123 said:
Have I missed something?
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I had to do a little googling.

It appears Donaldson has died due to the herpes virus although the only source I can find is Born Free and contains the usual anti-elephant spiel...

The Born Free Foundation is deeply saddened by reports of the death on Saturday of the one-year-old male Asian elephant calf, Donaldson, at Whipsnade Zoo. Initial reports indicate that Donaldson died from Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV), a generally fatal haemorrhagic disease that was first identified in an elephant in a US zoo.

Donaldson’s death will have a profound impact on the remaining elephants, the keepers and zoo visitors alike – all the more tragic because it follows so soon after the death of two-year-old female Aneena at Whipsnade in 2006, also from EEHV. It appears that elephants born in captivity face the threat of a killer virus, in addition to the lifetime of confinement and associated lameness, obesity and abnormal behaviour that has recently been shown, in a Government-funded study, to be prevalent in elephants in UK zoos.

Chris Draper, Senior Scientific Researcher for the Born Free Foundation, said: “The zoo industry is currently engaged in a seemingly desperate search for cases of this virus in wild elephants, but the overwhelming evidence to date is that EEHV is a primarily a killer of captive elephants. Remember, this disease was first identified in zoos, and has continued to pose a significant risk to captive populations of elephants, and calves in particular, ever since. The stress of captivity and the frequent shuffling of elephants between zoos for the questionable purpose of largely unsuccessful breeding attempts have been suggested as factors increasing the risk of deaths from EEHV.”

The results of the study from the University of Bristol into the welfare, housing and husbandry of elephants in UK zoos showed that there was a welfare concern for each and every elephant in the country, in the opinion of at least one of the research team. Poor welfare, and the continued threat from EEHV, simply re-emphasise that the time has come to end the breeding of elephants in captivity in the UK, make radical and demonstrable changes to how elephants are kept in zoos for the remainder of their lives - and shift our emphasis towards the survival of wild elephants and their natural habitats.

Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation added: “The jury is no longer out on keeping elephants in captivity - the time has come to rethink the whole approach, to end breeding and imports to the UK, to overhaul the conditions for the remaining elephants, and focus our energies on conservation in the wild”.

The Born Free Foundation is calling on Defra, as the Government department responsible for animal welfare and zoos, to take seriously the risks to elephants from EEHV and the results of the recent studies of elephant welfare. Defra must implement genuine and effective measures to improve the welfare of elephants remaining in UK zoos while, at the same time, ensuring that tragedies such as Donaldson’s death are not repeated.

Reference:

Harris M, Sherwin C & Harris S (2008). The Welfare, Housing and Husbandry of Elephants in UK Zoos. Bristol University.
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I only just read about Donaldson the other day on the Ele Encyc. Poor guy :(

Q-Won't the rest of the herd/youngsters be at danger too? I noticed that there's already been one other death from the same disease.
 
Jacobea said:
I only just read about Donaldson the other day on the Ele Encyc. Poor guy :(

Q-Won't the rest of the herd/youngsters be at danger too? I noticed that there's already been one other death from the same disease.
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Its only dangerous to young Asian Elephants, or thats my understanding.
 
There was a long thread elsewhere some time ago about the herpes virus and it does seem that Emmett is probably a carrier so this problem is unlikely to go away .
 
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