Zoos adding elephants to their collections

ZooElephantMan

ZooElephantMan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Does anyone know when was the last time that a zoo got a new elephant exhibit that didn't have elephants before (so zoos that redo their old exhibits don't count)? I am assuming that it has been at least 5 years or more. It seems to be really rare, but I don't know.
 
Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa did not have any elephants when they built their African elephant exhibit in the early 2000s.

The Fresno Zoo is bringing in an African elephant herd for their new Africa exhibit opening in late 2015. They currently have 2 elderly Asian elephants in a small exhibit built in 1982 that will presumably be shut down when the Asian elephants pass on. The Fresno Zoo has not had African elephants before.

You are correct that very few zoos have added elephants to their collections from scratch recently. There are zoos like Omaha and Brookfield who have sent their elephants away with the intent of building new elephant exhibits at some point. Omaha is building their new exhibit now.

There are rumors that the elephant-less Philadelphia Zoo wants to bring back elephants at some point, but not sure what the current story is with that.
 
Montgomery Zoo (2005) - maybe
Disney's Animal Kingdom (1998)

Lowry Park Zoo had elephants prior to their most recent exhibit for Africans.

Elephants have traditionally been a staple for any zoo to have. You'll be hard to a zoo that hasn't had a least a single elephant in its collection at some point in the zoo's history. It wasn't until the mid 1990s that elephants have become difficult to source for zoos. This is a big reason why few zoos had attempted to breed elephants or house them properly prior to this time.
 
SDSP will do a similar split like with Reid Park zoo and send some elephants to Fresno and rumor has it SDSP will repeat the process once more of importing and breeding more African elephants. I've heard a couple of rumored places the Zoo's existing female could go but to maintain AZA accreditation (incase they don't have the Africans by then) the Zoo would need to quickly be able to relocate Shaunzi and Kara thus eliminating the zoo's decision to keep them until they simply "pass". This reasoning also leads me to assume that Santa Barbra has also altered their plan to keep their elephants until they pass and eliminate their program likewise and have explored new facilities to send their elephants to (I could see their girls being sent to LA). I think now is the time we are going to see a lot of elephant moved and unfortunately more zoo's shut their doors to elephants like Seattle, Lee Richardson, and most likely Virginia.
 
*Nashville Zoo had elephants prior to 2005.

*Zoos are not going to loose accreditation over elephants if they haven't met the standards in time as long as a plan to meet standards in the immediate future are in place.

*Several zoos should have closed their elephant exhibits over ten years ago if they were truly serious about preserving the captive population in order to consolidate breeding females with males. However, if elephants are to persist in North American zoos, those that have sent or will soon send away their elephants may/should look at building new exhibits in 10-15 years once breeding levels potentially increase to the point of needing more space.

*@BeardsleyZooFan while true, your point may not fall under the thread's original question. Or I may have misinterpreted the original question.
 
Birmingham had Asians until Mona died circa 2007. They built a completely new exhibit for African Bulls that didn't open until 2011.
 
gerenuk said:
*@BeardsleyZooFan while true, your point may not fall under the thread's original question. Or I may have misinterpreted the original question.
Click to expand...

I think the question is subject to interpretation in Lowry Park's case. They did maintain Asian Elephants beforehand, but then opened a completely new exhibit for African Elephants. I think that in a sense we're both right, but I don't know how ZooElephantsMan wants this question interpreted regarding zoos like Lowry Park.
 
[/QUOTE] I've heard a couple of rumored places the Zoo's existing female could go but to maintain AZA accreditation (incase they don't have the Africans by then) the Zoo would need to quickly be able to relocate Shaunzi and Kara thus eliminating the zoo's decision to keep them until they simply "pass". [/QUOTE]

Who are Shaunzi and Kara and what zoo do they live at?
 
I am looking for zoos that went at least 10-15 years without having elephants. For example, if a zoo like The Central Park Zoo got elephants right now, they would count because they haven't had elephants in a while. (This is just an example and in no way am I trying to imply that the central park zoo is, or should get elephants right now).

Do people see a future for elephants in north american zoos or not? Has breeding gone up?
 
Does anyone know where the Fresno Chaffee Zoo's Asian Elephants are going to go when they are relocated?
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
I am looking for zoos that went at least 10-15 years without having elephants. For example, if a zoo like The Central Park Zoo got elephants right now, they would count because they haven't had elephants in a while. (This is just an example and in no way am I trying to imply that the central park zoo is, or should get elephants right now).

Do people see a future for elephants in north american zoos or not? Has breeding gone up?
Click to expand...

I am hopeful for the future of Asian elephants in US zoos:

* The mortality rate of the lethal herpes virus that took the lives of so many calves for two decades seems to have abated somewhaty. I believe the statistic is only two losses in the last five years. In addition, more calves have also survived the virus, thanks to National Zoo research, earlier intervention, and Famcyclovir.

* The amount of assistance from non-AZA members such as Canada's African Lion Safari and the Ringling Conservation Center has been invaluable. These two institutions have bred 17 calves and 26 calves, respectively, in the last 20 years, so if zoos are to breed more successfully, we need not only their knowledge, but their animals. With only 25 breeding-age males in the entire country, ALS's loan of Albert and Samson to Albuquerque and Ringling's loan of first Casey and now Romeo to Fort Worth has made the continuation of those excellent breeding programs possible when there might not have been studs available otherwise.

* AZA institutions are really working together to consider the needs of the species as a whole, as opposed to the individual needs or desires of institution. Zoos who once expected beloved babies born there to stay there have educated their members about the need for matriarchal herds to stay put, but related young males to leave to breed at other zoos. And Denver, for instance, just built a stunning new habitat with the sole purpose of not breeding, but the less-glamorous job of housing bulls until they are needed elsewhere. This kind of cooperation is the only way the species can survive here, and it's happening in actual practice and not just theory.

* People respect and appreciate elephants, and while initially intimidated by the barrage from activists, have come to realize that elephants can live happily and healthfully in zoo habitats. When IDA has so few arguments left that they blame Seattle for sending its elephants to the luxurious habitat at the OKC Zoo instead of a sanctuary, they're running out of things to say.

I love your zoo and constantly check in for pregnancy announcements!
 
Sorry--I meant Zoo CHAT in the comment above!

PS Forgot to mention Ringling's loan of Doc to Syracuse to replace Indy. It's also worth noting that no zoo that breeds Asians has more than 3 breeding cows--and those few groups of 3 are members of a long-standing matriarchal herd that can't be broken up. Even ALS has only a few teenage breeding females. So it's going to be very very difficult for any zoo to acquire a breeding-age female unless one is obtained from a zoo closing its exhibit, like the National Zoo's Maharani. The only breeder with any number of younger-breeding age females is, again, Ringling. Ringling has 9 cows between the ages of 10 and 20. Since most have not yet begun to reproduce, I suspect they are among the 13 travelling elephants who will be coming back to the Ringling Conservation Center in 2018 when elephants will no longer perform. Ringling has already donated or loaned 8 elephants to zoos and has supported the herpes research with considerable financial donations, so it wouldn't surprise me if Ringling knows already that no one can get breeding cows except from them and plans to loan one or more starting in 2018 to meet the need.
 
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