Best Elephant Enclosures

@BlackRhino: I visited both Indianapolis and Columbus last summer and agree with you that both have excellent elephant habitats with huge pools. I suppose that 4 acres is the gold standard for many zoos, and that 2 acres has perhaps become the new minimum (silver? haha) standard. I'm quite sure that a zoo will never again construct an elephant exhibit any less than 2 acres in North America. Size is not everything, but it is a massive factor for such large and intelligent animals and it is great to see so many 4 acres or more enclosures popping up all over the U.S.
 
Snowleopard's 4 acre cutoff sounds reasonable....especially when creating "a best list" like he usually does. And as you mentioned BlackRhino, 2 acres will soon be considered average, of course there is nothing wrong with being average. But that is not quite what I think he is looking for.

And I would also like to mention that zoos with elephant exhibits under two acres shouldnt always be considered poor or ancient. Remember exhibits shouldnt just be judged by their size, but quality and husbandry...its all about how the space is used, too! There will come a time when some zoos will be asked to only hold and exhibit some elephants (no breeding)...especially surplus bulls. And these zoos will become a necessary component to the captive elephant population.
 
Columbus and Indianapolis both have top-notch habitats and both are two acres. In ten years two acres will become average, but as of today it is excellent.
 
In about three or four years from now there will be at least 16 U.S. zoos with elephant habitats that are 4 acres or larger in size. I'd say that by then Columbus and Indianapolis might struggle to make it into the top 20 North American elephant exhibits. It is an exciting time, as the list of massive enclosures being built makes for a lot of holding space for elephants in the U.S., and that means there is a ton of land for baby elephants!
 
Columbus and Indianapolis will still have great enclosures for the elephants though in 5 years. Think about this, say 60 years ago the best elephant enclosure was a .4 acre yard with just dust. Even though it was the best it was still insufficient for the elephants and it still will be in 60 years. Now compare that to Columbus, will the enclosure still be good for the elephants if it is good for them today? Yes, it still will, however compared to other enclosures it will not be near the best, but it will still be great for the elephants.
 
Id have to disagree...elephants put a lot of pressure on the land. All of the old elephant pens, were flat with no vegetation. Today's pens have varied terrain and some landscaping. These newer pens will definitely erode differently...and I guess it will all depend on how many elephants will be housed in the pens too.

It really also depends on how the zoo manages the land. Those elephant yards at SDWAP were pretty dusty and they are what 30+ years old? Of course I remember reading that management didnt want periodical grass seeding and irrigation back in the 1980s/early 90s.

If they hadnt renovated the African yard before the Swazi import, I would not rate these pens above Oakland, Disney, Columbus, or St Louis.
 
What would be an interesting solution is if the Columbus Zoo used the 3 large black rhino paddocks for their elephants. The rhinos will be moving into the African Savanna area anyway, and instead of bringing in Indian rhinos to replace them the Columbus Zoo should utilize the space for their elephants. That would keep them up to pace with the rapidly changing world of elephant exhibtry, and then in a few years instead of having 16 U.S. zoos that had double or triple the space in comparison then perhaps Columbus could keep pace with the others. I'm not saying that the Columbus Zoo elephant paddock is not good, as I think that it's one of the better ones I've seen in North America. My point is that it will only be an average-sized exhibit by 2013, and since Columbus has such a great zoo they should make the decision now to use the soon-to-be-empty black rhino enclosures for their elephants. Instead of having the 20th best elephant exhibit in terms of space, pools, land use, they would still have one of the best. It could work...
 
Maybe if they combined them all, but would they want to keep the herd together? It would probably make more sense (and cheaper) to expand the larger yard outward now that Powell Road has been realigned and the road behind the elephant yard is no longer in "public use". Just move some service roads and there is a bit more land.
 
The problem with all the opening elephant exhibits - there are NOT enough elephants to go around. Right now the populations of both species are struggling to survive in captivity. We will probably end up with lots of new multiacre elephant exhibits that have few if any elephants. Right now we have to concentrate on breeding.

Also, the most recent African Savannah plans I have seen do NOT include African Elephants. While a little disappointing that leaves quite a few acres that can be used for all the other animals.

@snowleopard: I do like you idea of using the rhino yards to increase yardage. Maybe they could put the Indian Rhinos where the lions are now.
 
okapikpr said:
Id have to disagree...elephants put a lot of pressure on the land. All of the old elephant pens, were flat with no vegetation. Today's pens have varied terrain and some landscaping. These newer pens will definitely erode differently...and I guess it will all depend on how many elephants will be housed in the pens too.
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In MY opinion those "pens" which I really would not call "pens" at all are the
best elephant exhibit in the country. Again, that is my opinion and I did not say you had to agree.
 
Anyone who has seen Birmingham has to include it. Sorry if it makes me a homer, its very nice and very innovative.
 
tschandler71 said:
Anyone who has seen Birmingham has to include it. Sorry if it makes me a homer, its very nice and very innovative.
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It doesn't make you a homer at all :D. Birmingham's 'Trails of Africa' is incredibly innovative. It is the first zoo in North America to construct a habitat specifically to house elephants in a bachelor herd setting. Additionally, it is the first in THE WORLD to house a group of male African elephants with hoofstock, giraffe, white rhinoceros, and potentially hippo (?). That in it's self is innovation and hopefully a precedent for several more zoos down the line as captive breeding does become more successful.

These innovations aside, the size of the enclosure alone make it one of the top five African elephant enclosures in the United States.
 
loxodontaafrica said:
Additionally, it is the first in THE WORLD to house a group of male African elephants with hoofstock, giraffe, white rhinoceros, and potentially hippo (?).
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Has this mix actually been accomplished or is it only in the planning now?
Elephant with hoofstock and rhino is not a first, of course (http://www.zoochat.com/759/boras-zoo-savanna-49072/) although perhaps not males.
and Elephant with hoofstock and giraffe is not the first in USA.
 
They already place the rhino and hippo on the flex exhibit. The next phase is a new hoofstock barn so they can meet the AZA standards for "spaces" preferably Impala and Scimitar Oryx.
 
Not on a permanent basis but they have done it. They are still in the experimental stages. The new addittion of a male white Rhino should alter the equation even more.
 
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