African Elephant, September 1983

I thought this specimen (M'Tendre?) refused to venture outside! Or was it possible to kick it out for cleaning purposes?

Yes, I heard(or saw) the same about this animal. Note there is a gate across the entrance to the 'house'. When I saw her she never came out though.

Rarity value of photo ;high.

Does it seem likely that Edinburgh Zoo will ever get elephants again, or are they firmly part of their history?

I doubt it. They are typical of the 'urban zoo-no more Elephants' school, I think..

In the book by John Lloyd : Wonders Never Cease Edinburgh zoo in the 21st Century,
They show images of new Bio domes which include elephants in the woodland zone and Polar bears in the aquatic zone, I don't know if this has changed since publication in 2006.

By the way, the Tropical forest bio dome shows orangs. and what look like Malayan tapirs