North American African Elephant Population

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Hyak_II said:
Hopefully things go better with this one than the last.

Actually on that note, its rant time, lol.

Pittsburgh used to have an excellent program, they were producing calves regularly and were on the top of their game, so to speak. However in the past 10+ years, they've really faltered. They sent out proven breeding cow Moja to a non-breeding facility (which has also broken a matriline) which is bad enough, yet they still retain three young cows at the zoo who are all desperately due for their first calves (especially 23 year old Victoria), plus proven wild caught cow Savannah who should still have a good 10+ years of reproductive life left in her too. Yet what do they do? Maintain all the girls at the zoo with no bull, and just let all that potential just go to waste. Then at the ICC, they have Jackson there with the Botswana cows plus the other old cow, and the only one that breeds rejects her calves. It makes absolutely no sense!! Like seriously, what the hell are they doing???

Now I don't know the finer details, of course, but why wouldn't they do the following that makes so much more sense:

  • Send Savannah and her daughter Angelina to the ICC, while they retain Seeni and Sukiri
  • Retain Moja with her daughters Victoria and Zuri at the zoo
  • Send Jackson out to another facility that needs a bull, ideally in exchange for another proven male
  • Bring in two new bulls. One for the ICC and one for the zoo.
With that, they could easily expand both matrilines, have good breeding at both facilities, and Seeni could at least have a chance to observe proper mothering behavior from Savannah.
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Would there be new or different management for the change?
 
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Hyak_II said:
I honestly couldn't care less. Whatever works best for the animals and the keepers.

(Case in point, African Lion Safari and Houston Zoo. Both extremely successful breeding herds, but very different management styles.)
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I do agree, But I just wondered when a place has been doing well with its breeding program how it can go backwards!
 
Zorro said:
I do agree, But I just wondered when a place has been doing well with its breeding program how it can go backwards!
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They just resigned themselves to breeding. Very bad. Unfortunately, Victoria was unsuccessfully inseminated because she will be too old for a calf in a few years. Zuri and Angelina they probably don't deal with it until they are in their prime, they start dealing with their pregnancy when they are around 20 years old and the chances of getting pregnant are reduced. Very stupid. As for Savannah, she's probably still fertile, but she had a calf a long time ago, and given her age of approaching 40 and her chances of getting pregnant slowly coming to an end, I doubt she's still getting pregnant. But I would like to be wrong.
 
Trust me, nothing about the Pitt elephant program makes sense. Not long ago they had the largest African elephant collection (between the zoo and the farm) in the states with so much potential (possibility of 8 breeding females, a bull from European bloodline and the most prolific African bull in Jack). Fast forward 5-6 years, Mojas in Oregon, Thandi in Granby, Umi has passed, Vic, Nan and Seeni they have pretty much decided not to breed, Bette and Tash are post repro, Jack ain't getting younger leaving Suk, Ang and Zuri as any potential breeding opportunity. Oh, did you know the iCC has the largest elephant barn in country? It only houses 3 elephants and has potential to hold 10x that amount. It's just sad it hasn't worked out
 
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is expecting a calf:

Five years of elephants: Omaha zoo announces calf expected next year - KTVZ

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its elephants’ arrival from Swaziland, in South Africa, with an announcement that the herd is growing — by one.

Dennis Pate, zoo president and CEO, announced Thursday morning that hormone work with the elephants has paid off, and one of the African elephants, Claire, is expecting.

She is about halfway through the pregnancy and due around this time next year, Pate said. Zoo workers have been able to see some toes of the infant on an ultrasound, he said.

Callee, the father, was a welcome addition to the herd, Pate said, with all the female elephants taking an interest in him, and vice versa. With this pregnancy, Callee “is now a proven breeder,” Pate said.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is expecting a calf:

Five years of elephants: Omaha zoo announces calf expected next year - KTVZ

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its elephants’ arrival from Swaziland, in South Africa, with an announcement that the herd is growing — by one.

Dennis Pate, zoo president and CEO, announced Thursday morning that hormone work with the elephants has paid off, and one of the African elephants, Claire, is expecting.

She is about halfway through the pregnancy and due around this time next year, Pate said. Zoo workers have been able to see some toes of the infant on an ultrasound, he said.

Callee, the father, was a welcome addition to the herd, Pate said, with all the female elephants taking an interest in him, and vice versa. With this pregnancy, Callee “is now a proven breeder,” Pate said.
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Absolutely amazing news. I didn’t expect Claire to be the first pregnancy, but still overall amazing news. Let’s hope this is just the first of many calves in Omaha.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is expecting a calf:

Five years of elephants: Omaha zoo announces calf expected next year - KTVZ

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its elephants’ arrival from Swaziland, in South Africa, with an announcement that the herd is growing — by one.

Dennis Pate, zoo president and CEO, announced Thursday morning that hormone work with the elephants has paid off, and one of the African elephants, Claire, is expecting.

She is about halfway through the pregnancy and due around this time next year, Pate said. Zoo workers have been able to see some toes of the infant on an ultrasound, he said.

Callee, the father, was a welcome addition to the herd, Pate said, with all the female elephants taking an interest in him, and vice versa. With this pregnancy, Callee “is now a proven breeder,” Pate said.
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Considering the African Elephant breeding program in the US has been a flop, this is brilliant news! :)Hopefully there will be more at Ohama to follow! They have an outstanding complex, and the right individuals, so fingers crossed. :D
 
Zoofan15 said:
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is expecting a calf:

Five years of elephants: Omaha zoo announces calf expected next year - KTVZ

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its elephants’ arrival from Swaziland, in South Africa, with an announcement that the herd is growing — by one.

Dennis Pate, zoo president and CEO, announced Thursday morning that hormone work with the elephants has paid off, and one of the African elephants, Claire, is expecting.

She is about halfway through the pregnancy and due around this time next year, Pate said. Zoo workers have been able to see some toes of the infant on an ultrasound, he said.

Callee, the father, was a welcome addition to the herd, Pate said, with all the female elephants taking an interest in him, and vice versa. With this pregnancy, Callee “is now a proven breeder,” Pate said.
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This is awesome news! Hopefully, Omaha will have many more calves in the future! And not only them, hopefully Sedgwick County and Dallas have some luck as well! And it's great to have another proven bull in the US Population! :)
 
Zoofan15 said:
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is expecting a calf:

Five years of elephants: Omaha zoo announces calf expected next year - KTVZ

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its elephants’ arrival from Swaziland, in South Africa, with an announcement that the herd is growing — by one.

Dennis Pate, zoo president and CEO, announced Thursday morning that hormone work with the elephants has paid off, and one of the African elephants, Claire, is expecting.

She is about halfway through the pregnancy and due around this time next year, Pate said. Zoo workers have been able to see some toes of the infant on an ultrasound, he said.

Callee, the father, was a welcome addition to the herd, Pate said, with all the female elephants taking an interest in him, and vice versa. With this pregnancy, Callee “is now a proven breeder,” Pate said.
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Amazing news !!! :):):) As they mention in the article, they hope it is the first of many. So let's believe that there will be others. These elephants may be key in maintaining the population of African elephants in the US.
 
TinoPup said:
Six Flags Great Adventure had their USDA inspection last month, with 4 elephants reported. Their last inspection in 2019 had 6, and that's the number last mentioned in this thread.
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What does Six Flags have to do with Omaha's African elephant herd?
Please can you clarify?
 
TinoPup said:
Six Flags Great Adventure had their USDA inspection last month, with 4 elephants reported. Their last inspection in 2019 had 6, and that's the number last mentioned in this thread.
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This means that two elephants have died since then. Unfortunately, they do not announce it. I can't think of those who probably died, it could have been anyone, almost everyone is old: Tanya (1969), Barbara (1971), Debbie (1971), Lucy (1971), Sheila (1972) and Joyce (1984).
 
AZA accreditation has nothing to do with Pittsburghs breeding program. They tried multiple times with elephants at both facilities while being non-AZA
 
Elephantelephant said:
This means that two elephants have died since then. Unfortunately, they do not announce it. I can't think of those who probably died, it could have been anyone, almost everyone is old: Tanya (1969), Barbara (1971), Debbie (1971), Lucy (1971), Sheila (1972) and Joyce (1984).
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It's a shame they're so closed off about their animals, and they make it impossible to contact them. I'm planning on going again this year, I'll try to take photos of the elephants but you're not allowed to stop your car at all.
 
Elephantelephant said:
That is true, but they could get a bull and I believe it can have some effect.
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Absolutely TERRIBLE news :( My heart goes out to Toledo.

On this note, what has been going on with EEHV with the African population in North America lately? We went to being largely untouched, to suddenly, all within a few years, a number of animals contracting the virus and being symptomatic. And not just young animals either. Lucas was 10. Kedar and Zahara at Indianopalis were both in their teens. The animal at sedgewick was in its teens. Very unusual and not at all pleasant.
 
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