At Blackpool Zoo, both Noorjahan and Esha are pregnant. They are due late this year.
Source: Facebook Blackpool Zoo
Source: Facebook Blackpool Zoo
Asian Elephants in Europe 2024
- Thread starter MennoPebesma
- Start date
Delightful news! Both cows, along with the sire, Emmett, are all very genetically valuable animals, so these calves will be valuable addition to the EEP. And of course excellent news for the facility themselves as well, this will put them well on the way to building up their matriarchal herd proper.
Also the move of Sibu has been “officially” announced as well. I have no doubt there will be two new calves on the ground at Artis soon enough, and who knows, perhaps he even got Htoo Yin Aye pregnant again prior to his departure as well!
Also the move of Sibu has been “officially” announced as well. I have no doubt there will be two new calves on the ground at Artis soon enough, and who knows, perhaps he even got Htoo Yin Aye pregnant again prior to his departure as well!
Sibu was introduced to the rest of the herd at Artis yesterday:
Two young Asian elephant bulls will move from Zoo Praha to other zoos in the coming months. The 7-year-old Rudi (Rudolf) will move to Pombia Safari Park in Italy this month. And 7-year-old Max (Maxmilián) will move to Zoo Antwerpen in Belgium in June.
Source: Sloni Max a Rudi míří do nových domovů. Rozlučku chystá zoo na sobotu
Source: Sloni Max a Rudi míří do nových domovů. Rozlučku chystá zoo na sobotu
they must be getting ready to breed the two younger cows again. They lost a female calf last year to herpes.
This is one that admittedly is a bit surprising to me when I first found out. I wouldn’t be surprised if the transfer is indeed proceeding both of the breeding cows being pregnant again, but assuming the facility has the space to accommodate two new calves, what is the point of doing the transfer? They already have an excellent mentor bull in Ankhor, who the two young boys are already well integrated with, and of course the boys have each other to tussle and spar with. Moreover, Max is unrelated to both Tamara and her daughter, so retaining him at the facility would be a logical step for him to become the next breeding bull, especially since Prague has already proven that they can hold two mature bulls.
ultimately it’s not a big deal either way, but always interesting to see what the EEP coordinator has planned for the population.
remember they also have two older cows?
I guess the reason for the transfer is the general ‚let‘s get rid of bull calves as soon as possible‘ mentality that‘s prevalent in almost all zoos in Europe. They are afraid of not finding places for them and therefore pretty much all take the first opportunity to send them elsewhere. Prague can‘t keep 3 fully adult males, but they surely could have kept the two boys for at least 4-5 more years as both got along with Ankhor really well. Ankhor be will very bored and lonely without them.
I could imagine that this is seen as part of a maturity process to live with other young bulls away from the usual home. With the announced moves these are the oldest elephants still being in their birth place:
Edgar, Leipzig, 2016
Chandru, Ostrava, 2017
Arun, Budapest, 2017
2018 has three young bulls, 2019 none at all, 2020 four, 2021 four, 2022 three and 2023 one. I guess that slowly but surely the young bull situation is under control due to the limited breeding.
Edgar, Leipzig, 2016
Chandru, Ostrava, 2017
Arun, Budapest, 2017
2018 has three young bulls, 2019 none at all, 2020 four, 2021 four, 2022 three and 2023 one. I guess that slowly but surely the young bull situation is under control due to the limited breeding.
Vimoto
Well-Known Member
Arun moved to Szeged in September 2023. He lives with ShahRukh and Félix. He is well integrated but often bored because the other two are already much older and not playful.
All is going very well with the introduction.
(I can not say more than that)
Sure, in terms of bulls I guess the studbook keeper sometimes is not too unhappy about EEHV. Still at some point not too far away in the future you will have plenty of old wild caught unrelated cows pass away and create space for young bulls. Of couse breeding needs to be limited but I think we are slowly moving away from the necessity of a strict handling that breeders should be able to house a bull bachelor group.
Frankie_number_1_fan
Well-Known Member
I'm hopeful that some of these young bulls will be transferred out of the region within the near future. NA could easily use genes that are unrepresented there, so transfers could help out both in the long run. Covid evidently stopped some of these discussions Im sure, but it would be a smart move to get them moving. Freeing up some bachelor holding might eliminate some facilities' urge to push bull calves out so fast.
I personally view the best way forward remains is to have separate breeding herds and - perhaps - a temp cross/walk-over/separation facility for young bulls (enabling the bulls to remain till around 10-12 years age range). But essentially, separate herds with bachelor young bulls and elderly cows should remain. I am convinced a good and sufficiënt number of facilities remain and are keen to fullfill a role other than ex situ conservation breeding.
I would like to see in future also mixed herds where both the breeding group and bachelor herds and separate breeding bull facility are on site. With the explicit Notion that this requirement is only for the larger breeding groups with sufficient back of house and other space dedicated to elephants.
I do think the EEHV comment is very out-of-place and derogatory on zoo and vet staff in their trade and professional standards in the context of the high standards and best practice guidelins of husbandry, medical keeping staff interventions and vet treatment guidelines and codes the entire zoo profession aspires and ascribes to in excellent vet and animal health care! Undeniably, EEHV is a major concern for both elephants down to even some other hoofstock species that needs immediate and proactieve treatment in order to save individual animals from certain death and dealt with effectively in the context of best of care/knowledge wild animal health and vet treatment and bringing it up to the level of full and active protection by pre-arranged blood transmissions and eventually full and effective vaccination programs.
In my personal view this is no different than the crying shame dereliction of duty and sheet indifferente in the livestock industry in terms of dealing with zoonosis that are for the greater part human-borne and bred with substandard / sub-par animal health, hygiene and welfare conditions creating the preconditions and sometimes even so actively - if sometimes without design (but often ... not ... could not care less) actively promoting a zoonosis disease issue. Examples aplenty: Q-fever, foot-and-mouth, PPR, Avian Influenza, (Covid Influenza), brucellosis, Pasteurella, Coccidiosis ... afflictions.
If you take it even further down to private aviculture with for example Psittacosis et cetera in exotic or native psittacine and other bird species or even aquaculture or herptile culture ... the number of zoonosis of concern only increases many fold. With the explicit note that for the most part in expert private breeder communities the level of animal welfare, well-being, hygiëne, vet and medical and husbandry care are very much top notch level - sometimes even surpassing those held dear in accredited zoo circles.
You need to differ two aspects: of course nobody is happy about the EEHV and I am well aware that also the studbook keeper is fighting to rescue every single life. Yet also negative incidents can have a positive side - and having to place less young bulls certainly is definitely making the job of the studbook keeper easier.
Sorry t
Sorry to hear this news.