Chester Zoo Elephant Birth at Chester!

Yep. It was accidental. Sithami was Chester's only female calf to survive to maturity.... however having never experienced a young female in the herd before, Chester where unaware of the age in which she would become mature. It seemed Sithami and Chang weren't fussy about breeding together!

It was an accidental fluke, and I;m sure Chester wont make the same error with Sundara
 
I see, thanks for the information! I know have to check out the other females!

EDIT: Nevermind the rest are Wild Caught.
 
Javan Rhino said:
I remember reading that one of the elephants at Chester got pregnant way before maturity, so wondered if a bull could perform likewise
Click to expand...

I seem to remember one of the main reasons Tunga went when he did was that he was trying that theory out!
 
OrangePerson said:
I seem to remember one of the main reasons Tunga went when he did was that he was trying that theory out!
Click to expand...

Ahhh, I see. The little rascal ;p. I checked out that site that was linked earlier in this thread and it is very informative.

A quick question, if Upali is the only breeding male will he be swapped with another zoo at some point to bring in some diversity. It would be good if Chester could have 2 unrelated calves of opposite gender to try and breed together, but I assume that would be difficult to achieve?
 
]
Javan Rhino said:
Ahhh, I see. The little rascal ;p. I checked out that site that was linked earlier in this thread and it is very informative.

A quick question, if Upali is the only breeding male will he be swapped with another zoo at some point to bring in some diversity. It would be good if Chester could have 2 unrelated calves of opposite gender to try and breed together, but I assume that would be difficult to achieve?
Click to expand...

I think in the next year or two Upali will be moved on and a new male brought in.
 
We're hoping that Thi's calf is female so that there are four females that a new male could breed with instead of three. (Sithami, Sundara, Thi)
 
Jangolie must still be of reproductive age still considering she last gave birth 6 years ago? I was baffled why she was not allowed to breed with Upali, unless she still hasn't accepted him as the dominant male yet?
 
Paulkarli08 said:
Jangolie must still be of reproductive age still considering she last gave birth 6 years ago? I was baffled why she was not allowed to breed with Upali, unless she still hasn't accepted him as the dominant male yet?
Click to expand...

Chester has 3 elderly females now? Will this affect the breeding group? Do you think one will leave to another collection?
 
Well Jangoli is two years younger than Maya, who is retired from breeding, so I think Tunga was probably her last. I don't think there's a need to move one of the females out, I think they're quite helpful in the group anyway, like I've seen Sundara with Maya and Jangoli quite a lot.
 
Congrats on the birth :) can't wait until the next is born :)
 
Paix said:
Chester has 3 elderly females now? Will this affect the breeding group? Do you think one will leave to another collection?
Click to expand...

Elephants have a matriachal group structure. Unless you've got a troublesome animal, older females should actually help with breeding. I don't see any of the older females leaving.
 
Maguari said:
Elephants have a matriachal group structure. Unless you've got a troublesome animal, older females should actually help with breeding. I don't see any of the older females leaving.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I understand this, I was just wondering as I believe Chesters aim is to breed. And I was wondering when the enclosure capacity would become full.
 
haz_cat said:
Well Jangoli is two years younger than Maya, who is retired from breeding, so I think Tunga was probably her last. I don't think there's a need to move one of the females out, I think they're quite helpful in the group anyway, like I've seen Sundara with Maya and Jangoli quite a lot.
Click to expand...
Maya has never breed so cannot be retired from breeding,as far as i can remember she has never come in to cycle in all the years she has been at Chester.
 
Paulkarli08 said:
Jangolie must still be of reproductive age still considering she last gave birth 6 years ago? I was baffled why she was not allowed to breed with Upali, unless she still hasn't accepted him as the dominant male yet?
Click to expand...
The zoo has its reasons for not breeding from Jangoli as Tim Rowlands explained on one of his off the record chats on the walk and talk he did.
 
zoogiraffe said:
The zoo has its reasons for not breeding from Jangoli as Tim Rowlands explained on one of his off the record chats on the walk and talk he did.
Click to expand...

Would you be able to share with us the reasons? I would understand if you are not at liberty to say :)
 
Javan Rhino said:
Would you be able to share with us the reasons? I would understand if you are not at liberty to say :)
Click to expand...

Seeing as he said it was off the record, I dont think he will be putting it "on the record" or so to say. Basically, he cant share the info! ;)
 
zoogiraffe said:
It was OFF the RECORD!!
Click to expand...

Ahhh, sorry. I didn't realise you meant you couldn't share it. When you said walk and talk I assumed you meant a public tour or summat, I didn't realise it was a private talk. My mistake :).

Also, do you know any good organisations to get involved with regarding Chester? It is my favourite zoo and would love to walk around the grounds feeling like more than just a regular visitor, having a little insider knowledge and generally feeling closer to the zoo as a whole. As a regular visitor, I feel a little alienated in the fact that I show so much interest and get to know so little in return.

(Also, that second point is not related to the first, I completely understand that you can't say :))
 
Javan Rhino said:
Also, do you know any good organisations to get involved with regarding Chester? It is my favourite zoo and would love to walk around the grounds feeling like more than just a regular visitor, having a little insider knowledge and generally feeling closer to the zoo as a whole. As a regular visitor, I feel a little alienated in the fact that I show so much interest and get to know so little in return.
Click to expand...

I would suggest The North of England Zoological Society would be a good starting point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top