Any idea if Louisville's completely phasing out elephants or if they'll double down and expand?
From what Thane Maynard said on that podcast, it sounds like they will be sending them to a scantuary in Tennessee. I would be interested in knowing if they are doing this and when. The Louisville Zoo has not made any announcement that I am aware of that they will be doing this. I do not know if they plan on expanding. I know in 2016 they "expanded" their elephant exhibit. I have been to the Louisville Zoo several times and unfortunately I don't personally think they have room on either side of the elephant exhibit to expand anymore. This elephant exhibit is, in my opinion, still extremely small. Will be keeping my eye on this.
I would hope Mikki would be given the chance to breed one last time considering how valuable she is. Although in saying that, if there are plans to send them to TES it obviously indicates Louisville do not plan to do so. A male calf from her would be great (as he would theoretically move into the breeding program down the line), but obviously that wouldn't be a guarantee and a female calf would throw a spanner in the works regarding such a move.
I really think this is a no brainer. The Louisville elephants should be sent to a facility where Mikki has access to a proven breeding bull. It is no use sending reproductive age elephants to a retirement home sanctuary (It is like caving in to the politically correct AWR people without acknowledging what great strides elephant ex situ conservation management has done over the last 2-3 decades).
Great news to hear,, though it may be sad, it was definitely the right choice for the girls, and I am glad that they are considering bringing back elephants in a few years.
As I said in the African thread earlier, I agree. I also don't think we have enough animals for Louisville for the foreseeable future. I think they are just going to be like Brookfield who say they want them to return, but likely won't.
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is an AZA certified facility, and have in recent years became a retirement home for individuals from a handful of other AZA zoos too. Especially seeing as TES is only about five hours from Louisville, it's likely the less stressful, simpler option for the Louisville Zoo than finding a zoo willing to take the elephants, especially given the behavioral challenges that sometimes occur when introducing elderly elephants to each other. Of course, I also doubt there's any AZA zoos who would be willing to take both the African and Asian elephant, so TES might as well be the only option to keep these two elephants together.
