Copenhagen had two bull elephants, old Chieng Mai and young Tonsak, until summer 2015, when Tonsak was moved on breeding loan to Kolmarden Zoo in Sweden. And Copenhagen definately can house two bulls seperately, because Tonsak and Chieng Mai couldn`t be kept together. There is space for 2 bulls in the "bull/quarantine part" of the elephant house, and there might even be barn space for a 3rd in the boxes of the part of the house that is usually reserved for the females. Because when the rhino barn was renovated, some of the rhinos lived in the bull part of the elephant house while Chieng Mai was kept with the females in the female`s part.
However, I feel that having more then 2 adult bulls in Copenhagen is not a good option, because the outdoor space is very limited. The outdoor yard for the bulls is very small and barren, and it was originally constructed to be seperated in two parts (one for Tonsak and one for Chieng Mai), but I don`t think it was ever used that way because zoo staff recognized that it was just too small, They usually used it for one of the bulls, while the other one got to use the female`s indoor paddock. The best solution for the limited outdoor space in Copenhagen is to have just one adult bull and let him run with the females in the larger herd paddock whenever possible, and leave the barren and small outdoor paddock for the bulls empty or foor night use only.
Chang is a good choice in this regard because he is very friendly with females and calves and should be able to go out with the females in the large herd paddock every day, but I feel the zoo should wait to bring him back until Chieng Mai has died.
