African Elephants in Europe

Good news! Considering there is only a 28 month difference between two of her other calves (Uli and Moyo), I would say there is a good chance that Sabie, if not already, will fall pregnant again soon enough.

I'm very excited up for Wuppertal, Tooth is an absolutely amazing looking bull, and especially with Sweni he will produced stunning and genetically valuable calves.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Better than all the rest?
Click to expand...
In terms of current breeding in Europe, yes. Howletts and Ramat Gan both had their time in the spotlight for production in the past, and Cabarceno has been steadily producing calves as well, however when you factor in the number of cows, calving interval, and number of calves produced, Wuppertal is hard to beat! When looking only at currently surviving calves, since 2005 there have been 11 calves produced at Wuppertal, plus a further 2 conceived (but born at other facilities), for a total of 13. In comparison, Cabarceno has had a total of 14 still living calves produced since their first successful calf in 1995, and Howletts and Ramat Gan tied with 13 since their first in 1997 and 1974, respectively.

Or even in the past 10 years, Wuppertal comes in the lead with 8, followed by Howletts and Cabarceno tied with 6, and Ramat Gan with a big 'ol 0.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Well, that's better than anyone. Anyone I ever met, anyway.
Click to expand...
Most definitely the betterest of anyone. I did meet one fellow who lives up in the Yukon who claims to have out elephanted Wuppertal, but I would regard anything he says as sketchy at best.
 
Wuppertal is truly invincible! Of the three adult cows, two are now pregnant: Tika (12, expecting the 1st calf) and Sweni (26, expecting the 5th calf). Sabie gave birth to her fifth offspring in April, but she may be pregnant again, and next year she will become a grandmother thanks to her daughter Tika.
 
All three are pregnant. The third cow will give birth to an A.I. made calf, father is"Abu"from Halle Zoo.
 
Zoo-Elefant reißt sich Rüsselspitze ab
The accident happened in Magdeburg.
Mwana, the only elephant cow in the Magdeburg Zoo, has pinched her trunk tip and pulled it off.
About the inches of her highly sensitive tactile organ are off ...
An animal keeper electrically opened one of the large hydraulic gates to let the elephant lady out ...
Mwana knows the procedure, otherwise it always stays behind with sufficient distance.
But that morning she was suddenly putting her trunk in a slot in the gate - and suddenly roared vigorously.
I wish her an early recovery and to learn to eat and drink again.
 
Youch! This, unsurprisingly, has happened to a number of elephants in the past, and they always manage just fine afterwords, but I can not imagine it being a terribly pleasant time for the elephant while they heal.
 
Animal park defends plan to send elephant herd to Africa
I found this article about moving elephants from Howletts to Africa. The whole project is criticized by experts and even former zookeepers. Unfortunately, the Howletts insist on moving. The only ones who are enthusiastic are animal rights activists :(...
I was hoping that the project would be canceled, but it is not happening yet. I'm very worried about the life of elephants. It is especially sad that Howletts does not take into account the opinion of many experts or zookeepers who have been caring for elephants for many years.
 
Elephantelephant said:
Animal park defends plan to send elephant herd to Africa
I found this article about moving elephants from Howletts to Africa. The whole project is criticized by experts and even former zookeepers. Unfortunately, the Howletts insist on moving. The only ones who are enthusiastic are animal rights activists :(...
I was hoping that the project would be canceled, but it is not happening yet. I'm very worried about the life of elephants. It is especially sad that Howletts does not take into account the opinion of many experts or zookeepers who have been caring for elephants for many years.
Click to expand...
This whole thing is a publicity stunt to get in good graces with Animal Rights Groups
 
I'd say that Damian is much a man of his own will - even though his parks are essentially governed by the EAZA, it seems that he is totally averse to the practices of the body. I'd believe that for what it's worth, Aspinall's elephants may well be better off staying in captivity - as are many other elephants of the zoo - in the good circumstance, a zoo-elephant can be used as an educational model, making visitors more empathetic for wild elephants - I'd think that the best way to conserve wild elephant populations is to simply protect what habitat these elephants have - as opposed to having a 'gamble' and seeing whether your re-wilded elephants make it through or not. And meanwhile, we create better facilities for the elephants we have in zoos, as well as making sure we can accommodate a future population sustainably. In some cases, I would say that re-wilding can definitely work, but in the case of the Aspinalls, these elephants have essentially lived in Kent all of their lives, and it would perhaps be best not to take a gamble - even getting to Africa could lead to complications, as it happened with Zambezi the Rhinoceros in 2019. In any case, from what I have heard, the elephants won't even be truly re-wilded - they will continue to be maintained by a governing body, so is it truly too different from them living out their future lives in Kent?
But I digress, even Damian's Ratel are destined for Africa at some point in the future - even as an impure animal subspecies-wise..
 
Last edited:
There is simply no value in bringing mixed South African elephant genetic stock to Kenya in East Africa. Nor Tanzania or Uganda. Elephant populations are actually recovering in Tsavo f.i. and simply put a few elderly wild nor captivebred offspring will bring anything substantial for conservation in situ.

Darn KWS is opposed as our Kenyan authorities and factor in the post colonialist element in this to override what local authorities deem right and you are on a disaster line track. It much seems like a failed failing all sound reintroduction guidelines and protocols PR stunt for DA and his foundation. That many keepers are unhappy about it is equally telling.
 
Last edited:
Elephantelephant said:
Sad news from Planete Sauvage. African elephant cow Flora dead at 34 years old due the severe fracture of the front leg. Unfortunately, she did not manage to save. How the injury happened to her was not mentioned. :(
Click to expand...
How unfortunate. I am sorry for her keepers and those who loved her.

It could be just a freak accident or a misstep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top