Is there a way to predict how large a bull African Elephant in captivity will become? I was looking over my photos of Ali, Michael Jackson's former pet bull elephant that has been at the Jacksonville Zoo since February 1997 and he appears to be still growing. Ali was originally from Kruger National Park in South Africa before he came to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. I know that there are a lot of famous tuskers in Kruger that are/were both tall and massively built and looking at Ali it looks like he is growing up and out. Ali is turning 30 this year and currently he stands about 10 ft tall. Is there a chance he could get to 11 or 11.5 feet tall when he finishes growing in his 50's? The other week when I was at the zoo and saw him I noticed that his premaxillary bones have become significantly wider like in a big bull. He reminded me of Jums from Howletts in the UK. Here are some photos of Ali through the years. If anyone can provide any answers that would be great. It would really be interesting if it turns out that Ali actually is one of the largest African bulls in the country.
Ali in 2004 from @JaxElephant:
Ali in April 2010. My pic:
Ali in January 2014. My pic:
Ali during tusk surgery in March 2019 from the Zoo's Dropbox:
Ali in December 2019. My pic:
Ali in 2004 from @JaxElephant:
Ali in April 2010. My pic:
Ali in January 2014. My pic:
Ali during tusk surgery in March 2019 from the Zoo's Dropbox:
Ali in December 2019. My pic: