North American African Elephant Population 2024

Yazziel said:
Oakland Zoo will be sending their remaining male elephant Osh to TES this Fall.

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Very disappointing move. Oakland had plans to begin a bachelor herd and those are so desperately needed. I sincerely hope they do have plans to obtain more elephants soon since we really can't afford to loose holders as the population numbers grow. There are tons of young bulls right now.
Osh is also (as far as Im aware) a fertile bull despite his "nonbreeder" status and now any chance of him siring offspring is shot. Could they seriously not send him to another AZA facility that holds bulls temporarily until they could bring in a companion? TES is a wonderful facility but Osh did not need to be "retired".
 
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Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Very disappointing move. Oakland had plans to begin a bachelor herd and those are so desperately needed. I sincerely hope they do have plans to obtain more elephants soon since we really can't afford to loose holders as the population numbers grow. There are tons of young bulls right now.
Osh is also (as far as Im aware) a fertile bull despite his "nonbreeder" status and now any chance of him siring offspring is shot. Could they seriously not send him to another AZA facility that holds bulls temporarily until they could bring in a companion? TES is a wonderful facility but Osh did not need to be "retired".
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They didn’t mention they were permanently phasing out elephants, so perhaps they plan on bringing them back? I won’t speculate further on this thread cause I know that’s not what’s it for is to speculate. But if the Oakland Zoo thought this was the best decision they could make for Osh than it was the best decision for Osh.
 
John Marchwick said:
They didn’t mention they were permanently phasing out elephants, so perhaps they plan on bringing them back? I won’t speculate further on this thread cause I know that’s not what’s it for is to speculate.
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The zoo mentioned in an instagram comment that they would need to update the facilities since they are not adequate to hold a multigenerational herd. So if they do bring elephants back then it wont be with bachelor focus. Which is immensly disappointing to hear.
I wish zoos would stop acting like being able to hold massive breeding herds is the only route they can go. A bachelor grouping, even holding only three individuals, would be a great help to the population.
They also mentioned they would consider bringing a different animal into the space, which seems the most likely route if theyve shut off their plans with bachelor holding.
 
Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Very disappointing move. Oakland had plans to begin a bachelor herd and those are so desperately needed. I sincerely hope they do have plans to obtain more elephants soon since we really can't afford to loose holders as the population numbers grow. There are tons of young bulls right now.
Osh is also (as far as Im aware) a fertile bull despite his "nonbreeder" status and now any chance of him siring offspring is shot. Could they seriously not send him to another AZA facility that holds bulls temporarily until they could bring in a companion? TES is a wonderful facility but Osh did not need to be "retired".
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Not only are there no bulls currently available to move into a bachelor situation, but the places with bachelor herds don't have the space for him either, even temporarily. Unfortunately, it's a call that had to be made and one that was made in his best interest. The soonest available bachelors will be the calves out of Omaha and Sedgewick County but that's years down the road and it wouldn't be right to leave Osh alone that long.
 
E Maximus said:
Not only are there no bulls currently available to move into a bachelor situation, but the places with bachelor herds don't have the space for him either, even temporarily. Unfortunately, it's a call that had to be made and one that was made in his best interest. The soonest available bachelors will be the calves out of Omaha and Sedgewick County but that's years down the road and it wouldn't be right to leave Osh alone that long.
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I find it odd that nothing more was done to keep Osh within SSP control (to put it like that). TES is a wonderful facility that will provide him with a proper social situation but Osh now has zero chance of contributing to the population even as a mentor bull. Its a very permenant move and he's not an old animal by any means. I don't doubt at all that this move is being done for his own good but its just a strange outcome considering the current holders.

There's several bulls simply sitting at facilies right now that potentially could've made the move even if temporarily until alternate plans could be made (Louie or Samson for instance), and there's a fair number of breeding facilities without bulls currently as well that, in a worst case scenario, could've had room for him. It may have been an inconvenience/required the SSP to move things around but then it would mean keeping a bachelor holder, one that we will desperately need soon.

Obviously nothing can be done now (and I'm just sharing my two cents on the situation), but with the population growing it's sad that we're LOOSING holders rather than sustaining or gaining them.
 
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Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Obviously nothing can be done now (and I'm just sharing my two cents on the situation), but with the population growing it's sad that we're LOOSING holders rather than sustaining or gaining them.
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Just throwing it out there, but the number of holders isn't necessarily a good indication of how well the population is doing. Some SSPs in monkeys, ungulates, and birds have found it to be more beneficial to have more individuals at a smaller number of holders than spreading them out to a greater number of facilities. Furthermore, I'd much rather see a scenario in which all elephants are housed in natural, enriching social groups than one in which the SSP is spread out too thin between over thirty institutions. I'd actually be very surprised if we *don't* see further decline in the number of holders, especially amongst those zoos that are unable to house bulls and/or are only able to house a small number of individuals.
 
Neil chace said:
Just throwing it out there, but the number of holders isn't necessarily a good indication of how well the population is doing. Some SSPs in monkeys, ungulates, and birds have found it to be more beneficial to have more individuals at a smaller number of holders than spreading them out to a greater number of facilities. Furthermore, I'd much rather see a scenario in which all elephants are housed in natural, enriching social groups than one in which the SSP is spread out too thin between over thirty institutions. I'd actually be very surprised if we *don't* see further decline in the number of holders, especially amongst those zoos that are unable to house bulls and/or are only able to house a small number of individuals.
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Very fair point, however my comment on this is moreso directed at the upcoming issue with the number of young bulls the population has to house and a lack of facilities able to hold them. Especially considering that it seems unlikely that more than one or two of Mabu's sons will exit bachelor holding for breeding and they're the ones filling the spots at those facilities. In terms of housing bachelors, loosing a holder in this case is a very unfortunate loss. Loosing holders of older cows isn't the same as loosing a holder that had committed to bachelor holding, and with so many zoos opting to focus on breeding instead, we need every single bachelor facility we can get.
 
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Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Very fair point, however my comment on this is moreso directed at the upcoming issue with the number of young bulls the population has to house and a lack of facilities able to hold them. Especially considering that it seems unlikely that more than one or two of Mabu's sons will exit bachelor holding for breeding and they're the ones filling the spots at those facilities. In terms of housing bachelors, loosing a holder in this case is a very unfortunate loss. Loosing holders of older cows isn't the same as loosing a holder that had committed to bachelor holding, and with so many zoos opting to focus on breeding instead, we need every single bachelor facility we can get.
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Honestly, there's no shortage of space for bachelor groups at this time. As of today, there are only five bulls that might require relocation in the next ten years, and if half of the remaining pregnancies contribute, that number could rise to seven. The San Diego Zoo has indicated its readiness to accommodate bachelor elephants and can house up to 6-8 (potentially more, given their climate), although they currently have only three. Birmingham Zoo, similarly equipped, can also host a comparable number.
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Many of the facilities currently experiencing a baby boom have significantly larger and more cohesive herds than in the past. This allows them to potentially house 2-3 different social groupings simultaneously. Therefore, many of these bulls are expected to form bachelor herds within the facilities where they were born. This supports the SSP's goal for both Asian and African elephants, aiming for breeding facilities capable of housing potential bachelor groups onsite, as seen at zoos like Houston.
 
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