Australian Asian Elephant Population 2025
- Thread starter Zoofan15
- Start date
I would say majority of visitors are actually fooled by this initially. It's a nice comedic addition to the safari tour, which the driver's usually mention.
It would be nice however to have an actual species in that section that could actually utilise the water. They used to have Waterbuck there, but I never saw them utilise the water.
I've always thought this drivethrough part specifically could be utilised as an Asian themed area. They already have Blackbuck there - and Indian Rhino would make great use of the lake!
Re. Statues:
While I think the Asian elephant cow statue is stunning, I’d have rather have seen it paired with an Asian elephant bull statue. It would have been a perfect opportunity to pay tribute to the iconic Bong Su (with the cow perhaps modelled on Mek Kepah in her prime).
The explanation seems to be the inclusion of an African bull elephant allows comparison between the two species, but minimal signage (I see a small pop-up board nobody looks inclined to read) to illustrate these differences - rather visitors are left to make their own interpretations.
It’s interesting as both Australia Zoo and Sydney Zoo found themselves in the same situation in the late 2010’s in that they both wanted to acquire elephants, but at the time, there was no surplus within the region. Sydney Zoo imported bulls from Europe, who will one day become an asset to the regional breeding programme; while the latter of course imported Sumatran elephants and operate outside of the regional breeding programme.
I understand the appeal of the Sumatran elephants was that they could be managed in full contact; but that rationale is now null when the zoo inevitably made the switch to protected contact.
While Werribee is ahead of Monarto in the size of its complex and the social structure of their herd (a multigenerational breeding herd); in the event Monarto are able to breed Putra Mas and Pak Boon, that’s realistically the best chance of us seeing an Asian elephant cow breeding at natural birth intervals within the region. If a calf is produced, breeding from Pak Boon again ASAP would ensure it would have the benefit of a sibling within three years of its age.
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In Sydney's case, there was bulls regionally available that they could have transferred in. The region as a whole though wanted new bulls for breeding opportunities in the long term. At that point in time we were effectively down to just two founders (one of which wasn't even proven naturally, an issue in itself).
At this rate, we could easily see at least one of the two brothers moved to one of the breeding facilities within the next decade. Werribee allowing Luk Chai to only breed once more with the cows gives me the impression they have another bull/s in mind. Those two are the only theoretical options regionally!
The obvious move at the time appeared to all of us for Taronga Western Plains Zoo to transfer their two then adolescent bulls (Luk Chai and Pathi Harn) to Sydney Zoo to free up space at Dubbo. On hindsight, we know Luk Chai had been earmarked for Melbourne - transferring over the year the Sydney bulls were imported. That essentially left Pathi Harn as the only surplus at the time given the young age of Sabai and Jai Dee.
Had Sydney Zoo been willing to wait, it wouldn’t have surprised me to have seen Taronga consent to Sabai and Jai Dee (had he survived) transfer to Sydney; but Sydney Zoo wanted elephants on site, which led to them importing. I agree this will benefit the region long term as like you say, we have two founder bulls remaining.
Melbourne’s keepers advised me on my visit the plan is to bring in a new bull to sire the next cohort after Luk Chai’s second cohort. When I enquired if that would be Putra Mas, the keeper was doubtful and said a younger bull, perhaps even one that could be mentored by Luk Chai. Sydney’s bulls are the obvious candidates; but since they get on so well, it makes sense to keep them as a cohesive duo until required for breeding.
Melbourne needed another bull following Bong Su's death, and Luk Chai was really the only candidate. Had Bong Su not passed, I think Melbourne certainly had plans to AI both Num Oi and Dokkoon again. We know semen collection was done for Anjalee just before his death that same year.
Sydney also had Saigon at the time, so they could have easily just acquired one of the bulls. Or, they could have paired up half brothers Pathi Harn and Man Jai at Sydney. Either way there were options - the opportunity to take on the Dublin males presented, and it made the most sense to acquire them for the sake of the breeding program!
Sydney's bulls are also younger, so if sent in five years or so, could easily still be 'mentored' by Luk Chai. Werribee has the space to even accommodate both if they wished, but that would likely mean sending Luk Chai (and potentially Roi Yim), the other way.
I was told Melbourne planned to undertake AI in early 2020 using Gung as the donor, but his erratic musth cycles (typical of a maturing bull) interfered with these plans. I don’t have confirmation which cow this was with, but Num-Oi was a priority due to having no surviving offspring; while it’d been six years since Dokkoon had last produced a calf.
Luk Chai has proved the ideal bull for Melbourne/Werribee. He’s relatively placid for a bull and used to calves dating back to his early Taronga years. Pathi Harn is a more aggressive bull and in any case, is the half-brother of Mali. I look forward to seeing him mentor Roi-Yim over the coming years.
That's right I had forgotten about that. It was only likely considered due to the pandemic and Melbourne's concern regarding being able to import Luk Chai in time to mate Dokkoon mainly.
In the end, they were able to transfer Luk Chai across from Dubbo by the years end and he did his job in the very first week with Dokkoon! With the next cohort, he will grow quite well represented, especially as he already has two daughters of which are both likely to breed in the future.
Luk Chai will ultimately ensure his mother Thong Dee will become well represented, explaining the apparent decision to retire her from breeding at Dubbo.
Porntip was under consideration for retirement too. Time will tell if that is the case. Her daughter offers an opportunity for continuation of her line (assuming survival); but ultimately it’s Pathi Harn who is her best chance. He’s unrelated to both Anjalee and her unborn calf (hopefully female), so will presumably remain on site; but it’s not impossible odds he could become Werribee’s next breeding bull. He’s unrelated to 4/5 viable cows and if Luk Chai remains on site, he could breed with the fifth (Mali).
Alternatively if Putra Mas is unable to breed with Pak Boon naturally, then Pathi Harn could be a good choice to transfer to Monarto. He could remain there for a decade before going on to Werribee.
I believe if they retire Thong Dee and Porntip would be a shame when we have Monarto zoo trying to start a breeding program with one or perhaps two possible fertile cows, Its likely to be a struggle for them depending on a number of factors going their way for them. As we know adult fertile cows are in short supply in the over all picture of things in Australia, If Monarto get one calf from the current cows I would consider them lucky.
It would indeed be a shame. Porntip (1992) and her daughter Kanlaya (2018) represent Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s sole matriline to date (there’s no guarantee Anjalee is pregnant with a female calf) and Porntip is the matriarch of the Dubbo herd, so it’s understandable that they’d want her to remain onsite; but Thong Dee (1997) is a free agent with no biological connection to the female herd now her sons have transitioned out.
If Thong Dee remains in the Dubbo herd, she’ll have no matriline compared to Porntip and Anjalee, who each have the opportunity to build up their families. Long term, this could leave her an outsider. Had she been sent to Monarto, not only would she have added to their number of viable females (currently one, assuming Pak Boon can still breed), she not only could have established her own matriline; but a new founder line could have been established between her and Putra Mas.
I applaud what the Monarto zoo has done especially in such a short time frame and the amount of effort shown to date I believe their management are on the right track. As mentioned before Werribee appear to have done everything right I believe they are the best model for others to follow into the future it looks bright for them.I won't say more regarding the Dubbo herd other than I find what they do disappointing and frustrating!
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Werribee are at such an exciting point in the development of their herd with three viable adult cows and two female calves. Unfortunately even with 21ha to work with, breeding will still be limited by both their own capacity and the regional capacity to accomodate bulls. We can expect artificial birth intervals implemented to ensure succession, but not exponential growth.
Another change I’d expect to see over the coming decades is fewer offspring per cow. Dokkoon and Num-Oi are scheduled to produce their fourth calves circa 2028; but assuming additional females calves are welcomed in the next cohort, those females may in turn have a maximum of two calves throughout their lifespan. Progression of the EEHV vaccine will offer greater hope of long term survival of female calves born, meaning Werribee will have greater confidence in capping female’s reproductive after at least one daughter has been produced.
I don't rule out the possibility that if animals in the future are available there could be further holders interested depending on what could be available to them!
At this point in time, I’d assess Monarto as the best bet of acquiring a split-off matriline from the Werribee herd in 2-3 decades if they fail to generate succession from breeding from Pak Boon. Pak Boon may not breed; she may have all male calves; or any daughters she produces might not survive to adulthood. Considering she’s 33 years old and has no surviving offspring, it’s a precarious model for building up a multigenerational herd.
Otherwise, we indeed can’t rule out faculties such as Mogo perhaps being interested in acquiring a couple of bulls as Sydney has done.
At Porntip's age, it's possible they've elected to retire her at this point (although I'd hope that isn't the case). Breeding from Anjalee a second time circa 2031, tying in with Kanlaya's first calf will probably be the most likely possibility for the next calves at Dubbo at this point following this calf this year.
It's interesting as had Anjalee not been able to conceive, I do wonder whether they may perhaps have instead considered to breed Porntip or Thong Dee once more in the interim. Rather than having their herd future relying solely on a young Kanlaya.
It's interesting you mention Pathi Harn as a possibility for Werribee. It's something I haven't thought of as naturally, he's Mali's half brother, but if Luk Chai does indeed remain on site, it could be worked around. If Porntip is ultimately being retired from the breeding program at this point, I'd hope there was plans to exercise his reproductive potential regionally. He's quite valuable both regionally and globally.
I do agree with you, and it will be interesting to see how they plan to undertake this. Extending artificial intervals seems like the best bet - but what that looks like remains to be seen. Perhaps even intervals of eight years might be used, considering the amount of cows Werribee will soon have breeding. I'm not entirely sure they'll end up having all five cows breeding at once (although possible)!
It's also interesting regarding Dokkoon who currently has two daughters and a grandson. She will breed once more circa 2028, although at that point I can easily see her being retired, no matter the sex of the calf. Another daughter would be huge for the future succession of her line.
Had Anjalee failed to conceive, I have no doubt they would have bred once more from Porntip - and am still surprised they’d didn’t elect to do so prior to Anjalee breeding. Clearly with the number of stalls, capacity really is an issue.
Had Porntip bred, it would have been an ideal opportunity for Kanlaya to have observed the birth and maternal care of a calf from a text-book mother. She has a close bond to Anjalee and while Anjalee’s maternal skills are unproven, it should hopefully be an enriching and educational experience for Kanlaya ahead of the birth of her own calf. The zoo currently plans for her to produce her first calf in 2032 (I too assume tying in with Anjalee producing her second calf).
We’ve observed the same pattern in chimpanzees, which bred without contraception at Taronga Zoo throughout most of the second half of the 20th century. Fifi (1947-2007) produced 11 infants, of which three survived to adulthood. Today, infant survival is higher and contraception ensures over-population does not occur. Her granddaughter Kuma (1991) has produced three infants in nearly the same time frame - two of which have survived to adulthood.
With regards to the elephants, the founders are the most genetically valuable, so it also aligns with this. Roi-Yim is second generation and I already struggle to envisage what application he could have to the breeding programme.