Melbourne Zoo has 7 elephants at the moment. Their original 1:1 who have grown up together, 3 females that were imported from Asia when the new exhibit opened, and 1:1 that have been born since then.
Melbourne Zoo has 7 elephants at the moment. Their original 1:1 who have grown up together, 3 females that were imported from Asia when the new exhibit opened, and 1:1 that have been born since then.
The extraordinary recent success in breeding Asian elephants at both Melbourne and Taronga means that the enclosures found at those zoos are now arguably too small for the rapidly growing herds. Australia Zoo needs to get in on the act (instead of having elderly females) as the exhibit there is larger than the ones in Melbourne and Sydney.
I think one thing that Melbourne Zoo's exhibits really have going for them is that two of the paddocks can be joined to make a one big exhibit and then there is still a third separate space. I think the reason that this isn't being done at the moment is because only the biggest exhibit is appropriate for the youngsters. I can remember before they were born the news had a piece about the work being done to baby proof the exhibit. What we really need in Australia is a zoo that will take on a bachelor herd because the males will mature and both Taronga and Melbourne don't have the facilities to hold more than one mature bull at a time. Time will tell though.
