forest elephants in Florida

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

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Pygmy elephants visit zoo | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal
Kamba and Congo, live forest elephants featured in Pensacola Opera's production of Aïda, will be on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 29 and April 30 and May 1 and May 3 at The Zoo Northwest Florida. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to ride, and have pictures taken with, the rare pygmy elephants. Cost is $5 per person for each activity.

Congo and Kamba, 29 and 31 years old respectively, are visiting Pensacola with their owner, respected animal trainer Doug Terronova, for a live performance on the newly rennovated Saenger Theater stage. They will "star" as the spoils of war presented to the Egyptian hero, Radames during the Triumphal March in Act II of the play.

The Forest elephant is smaller than its more commonly-known relative, the Savanna elephant, and has distinctively different features. It stands at just eight feet tall, with straight, thin, pinkish-hued tusks, narrow faces and rounded ears.

Animal Encounters, the Dallas-based company that is providing Congo and Kamba, has also loaned animal talent to the Nashville, Syracuse, Birmingham and Memphis productions of Aïda.

Giusseppe Verdi's Aïda will run May 1 and 3 at the Saenger; for more information on the play or to purchase tickets please visit Pensacola Opera.
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Forest Elephants Yep!!!!!!

Yep they are really forest elephants, just look at the males tusks (Moxie) he died a few years back. But just by looking at those tusks I could tell, but to be honest the two females could be up in the air; who hows.
 
Well, sorry to disapoint, but Moxie is also from Zimbabwe. He was one of the dozens of elephant calves imported by Arthur Jones during the massive cullings in Africa.

The last Forest Elephant in North America died in 1991 at the Columbus Zoo.
 
I agree with Ituri.

The elephants don't look anywhere near forest ones as the skin is distinctly different and in this case the elephants don't match it. The head would be in a different shape. And zimbabwe is not to any forest elephants
 
Well then can someone please inform me on the scientific differences between the bush and forest elephants. Also does anyone know of any captive breeding efforts for the forest subspecies.
 
Tortoise Guy said:
Well then can someone please inform me on the scientific differences between the bush and forest elephants. Also does anyone know of any captive breeding efforts for the forest subspecies.
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Regarding differences the most visible differences between the two species (remember the African Forest Elephant is now considered a full flung species - Loxodonta Cyclotis) is that Forest Elephants have downward facing tusks so they dont get caught in branches in the thick Congo forest. Forest Elephants are also "redder" due to the high clay content of the Congo Basin. But a blood test is the only "real" way to know.

Regarding breeding - only one Forest Elephant is currently in captivity in Europe so at this time there are no plans to breed the species.
 
Thanks for the info, but I really don't think the redness of their skin is a true indicator; because that only depends on what kind of soil they happen to role in. Where in Europe is this elephant!
 
Brookfield is the Chicago Zoological Society and they havent had a male elephant in years...the last forest elephant in North America died at Columbus in 1991.
 
The forest elephant currently showing on ISIS is from Canada, but he is now dead. His name was Samson, and he lived at African Lion Safari - a very "typical" looking forest elephant.

Until the early 2000s, the Paris Zoo (Vincennes) had a male forest elephant "Coco", although he was rather "saggy" and didn't especially look the part. There are a few photos of him floating around on the internet:
Histoire du Zoo de Vincennes (near the bottom)
Parc Zoologique de Paris - Descriptif 2003 (about halfway down)
 
Ungulate said:
Until the early 2000s, the Paris Zoo (Vincennes) had a male forest elephant "Coco", although he was rather "saggy" and didn't especially look the part. There are a few photos of him floating around on the internet:
Histoire du Zoo de Vincennes (near the bottom)
Parc Zoologique de Paris - Descriptif 2003 (about halfway down)
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I've seen pics of Coco before, I automatically assumed that that was simply just an african elephant. Agree with you there certainly doesn't match the part.
 
"Red skin" is certainly not a permanent characteristic, as clay is easily washed off...

Some traits to distinguish Forest from Bush elephants:

-Count the toes: Forest elephants have 5 toenails on the frontfoot and 4 on the hindfoot (4/3 in Bush Elephants)
-Look at the ears: smaller and rounder in Forest, more pointed in Bush
-Tusks: thinner, straighter and downwardly pointing in Forest Elephants
-Body Size: in general, Forest < Bush
-A more hairy trunk and a long, narrow mandibule in Forest Elephants

Those animals depicted in the links rather look like Bush elephants to me...
 
Ituri said:
I'm not buying into the whole "forest elephant" thing with these individuals.
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None of the three look like forest elephants to me. The ears are wrong and the tusks are wrong. Even the tusks of the now dead(?) bull 'Moxie' are not like a forest elephant's, which are virtually downward pointing, not set at a horizontal angle to the trunk.
 
Forest elephant still living in France?

A few years back I saw a TV programme about an indian restaurant being opened in a small French town. The owners borrowed an (African as there was no choice) elephant from a local circus as a publicity stunt for the opening. Visually it resembled a 'Cyclotis' with small size, correct ears and thin daggerlike tusks.

Anyone know anything about this individual elephant?
 
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