Taronga Western Plains Zoo arna and gigi to western plains zoo
- Thread starter Coquinguy
- Start date
New life looms for Arna, the killer circus elephant - National - BrisbaneTimes
you know since i was overseas when this happened - i kinda missed all this circus elephants to dubbo stuff.
thought i might kick start the conversation.
firstly, whilst dubbo certainly has no obligation to house the elephants this is probably the best place for them from the perspective of both elephant and the humans that have to care for them. in fact, there is really nowhere else for them to go. its unlikely anyone would want to split them up, and one is a dangerous elephant - not ideal for the hands-on approach of melbourne, perth, taronga, auckland and australia zoos. they are also really old, so not the best investment especially not if your entertaining the ridiculous thought of moving them to new zealand!
according to the above article the ARAZPA elephant-keeping zoos were consulted as to what to do with gigi and arna, but i can't see them coming to any other conclusion other than stay at dubbo. a zoo who has just recently lost two elephants and already deals with non-contact animals...
has anyone got an update - id'e be particularly keen to hear how burma is reacting to them...
you know since i was overseas when this happened - i kinda missed all this circus elephants to dubbo stuff.
thought i might kick start the conversation.
firstly, whilst dubbo certainly has no obligation to house the elephants this is probably the best place for them from the perspective of both elephant and the humans that have to care for them. in fact, there is really nowhere else for them to go. its unlikely anyone would want to split them up, and one is a dangerous elephant - not ideal for the hands-on approach of melbourne, perth, taronga, auckland and australia zoos. they are also really old, so not the best investment especially not if your entertaining the ridiculous thought of moving them to new zealand!
according to the above article the ARAZPA elephant-keeping zoos were consulted as to what to do with gigi and arna, but i can't see them coming to any other conclusion other than stay at dubbo. a zoo who has just recently lost two elephants and already deals with non-contact animals...
has anyone got an update - id'e be particularly keen to hear how burma is reacting to them...
Anything is better than a damn circus, and now the elephants can hopefully spend their last decade in relative peace and quiet. TWPZ will get a minor boost in attendance, and perhaps that will aid in offsetting the newly acquired increase in groceries.
Patrick, just out of interest, when and where did Taronga promote this. ive got newspaper clippings from when the new masterplan was announced, and even though back then elephant rides were considered...........lol..............mixing Heman and Burma with 'four baby Thai elephants' never was. in fact the headline read 'baby boomer elephants pack their trunks for retierment out west'.??????????/
the taronga zoo old website - there was a page stating the zoos position on the elephant import. they actively encouraged people to write a paragraph in support of the plan.
whilst i no longer have access to this - i remember distinctly that it stated very clearly that a decision would be made regarding heman and burma based on how they adapt. it very clearly implied that integration would at least be attempted and that if it didn't work that there were other options such as dubbo would be explored.
whilst i no longer have access to this - i remember distinctly that it stated very clearly that a decision would be made regarding heman and burma based on how they adapt. it very clearly implied that integration would at least be attempted and that if it didn't work that there were other options such as dubbo would be explored.
whilst i have never been to dubbo, at a guess it is/was a better place for these particular elephants than the new one at taronga.
however, i thought the zoo owed them both, after years of poor treatment for one reason or another - the right to benefit from the new elephant import.
as it turns out, burma now has "friends" and heman died, meaning he can't contribute to the breeding program anyway.
but taronga never knew this. they could just as easily still have a lone asian elephant at dubbo or a baby elephant in thong dee belong sired by heman.
however, i thought the zoo owed them both, after years of poor treatment for one reason or another - the right to benefit from the new elephant import.
as it turns out, burma now has "friends" and heman died, meaning he can't contribute to the breeding program anyway.
but taronga never knew this. they could just as easily still have a lone asian elephant at dubbo or a baby elephant in thong dee belong sired by heman.
or heman could have outlived burma and ended up back at taronga but accidentaly passed on the elephant herpes virus to the main herd, or burma could have been sent to another zoo or anything.
as it is.....
heman did die
burma does now have 2 female companions, and remember too burma isnt owned by taronga zoo
and the herd at taronga are expecting-a sign they are happy? they might be about to grow in numbers but so too is the space they have. its not huge but this pregnancy backs up my belief that giving the elephants space is just as important as lots of enrichment, good staff and a balanced herd structure.
as it is.....
heman did die
burma does now have 2 female companions, and remember too burma isnt owned by taronga zoo
and the herd at taronga are expecting-a sign they are happy? they might be about to grow in numbers but so too is the space they have. its not huge but this pregnancy backs up my belief that giving the elephants space is just as important as lots of enrichment, good staff and a balanced herd structure.
Glyn, there is so much evidence that breeding is no sign that the particular animals are "happy", or that their enclosure is good, or whatever. Little example, in the Ukraine, Odessa, the pair of elephants are breeding regularly in an enclosure of 1/10 acre of concrete - 400 m². One of the most sucessful gorilla and bonobo breeding groups are in Stuttgart, Germany, in a terrible small, outdated and barren enclosure (indoor and outdoor). Mink breed fantastic in farms in cages not much bigger then themselves without any enrichment. Lions, tigers and bears breed very well in circusses in awful conditions.
NZ Jeremy
Well-Known Member
Thats true of some animals or individuals but other animals are very sensitive to such things, platypus for example...
I agree, some species are very sensitive to SOME condition, like water temerpature, humidity or they need some special kind of food to breed, others (for example primates) may need a special social setting to breed (gorillas breed poorly in pairs when both have been raised together; the highest ranking female of many monkey species will attempt to kill the offspring of low ranking females if these aren´t related to her, ect. ect....). But if this one (or two or three) conditions which are required to get the specific species to breed is fullfilled, and they DO breed, it is no "green card" that everything is well. Their housing may still be poorly, and the animals bored, and nevertheless, they may breed.