I recently found some photos of 1.0 Charlie 1973-00-00 at Ringling Brow. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation. Before I could not find any pictures of him so I figured these would be good to share. Here they are: View attachment 485697 View attachment 485698 View attachment 485699
That is Smokey. He is castrated, that is why he is with the females and in free contact. Here is a link to the Ringling Brothers Twitter to confirm that they're the same elephant. https://twitter.com/ringlingbros/status/661023690054885380
Here is the list of all elephants that remain at the Center for Elephant Conservation. If any of them have died it is unknown due to the lack of information about them.
Total: 24(7.17)
0.1 Alana 1976-00-00
0.1 Aree (Charlie x Mala) 2005-04-21
0.1 Asia 1968-00-00
0.1 Aussan 1957-00-00
0.1 Baby 1961-00-00
0.1 Bangko 1976-00-00
1.0 Barack (Doc x Bonnie) 2009-01-19
1.0 Charlie 1973-00-00
0.1 Cora (Thonglaw x Rosy) 1965-12-03
0.1 Emma 1971-00-00
1.0 Gunther (Charlie x Mala) 2001-11-18
0.1 Icky ll 1978-00-00
1.0 Irvin (Charlie x Alana) 2005-06-01
0.1 Louie 1966-00-00
0.1 Mala 1970-00-00
0.1 Mysore ll 1948-00-00
1.0 Ozzie (Charlie x Emma) 1999-08-16
1.0 P.T. (Charlie x Josky) 2002-05-21
0.1 Sally 1974-00-00
0.1 Sarah 1957-00-00
0.1 Shirley (Vance x Mala) 1995-02-19
0.1 Siam ll 1978-00-00
0.1 Toby 1961-00-00
1.0 Vance 1963-00-00
That is Smokey. He is castrated, that is why he is with the females and in free contact. Here is a link to the Ringling Brothers Twitter to confirm that they're the same elephant. https://twitter.com/ringlingbros/status/661023690054885380
According to the Elephant Database, he is castrated. However, also according to the Elephant Database he is the son of Vance so if that is true, he has many relatives in the U.S. already.
Unfortunately, "Big Boy", whose actual name is Roman, is castrated. Fun Fact: Roman is a Ringling-born elephant. He was born September 9, 1983, to Sid (dam) and Vance (sire) at Ringling Brothers Circus World. After being moved around a few circus hands, Roman was given to the Fuentes Gasca family in December 1994 and performed with the Rolex Circus until his relocation to the Culiacán Zoo in April 2021. Fun Fact #2: Roman has four living half-brothers, Smokey and Luke at Two Tails Ranch, Hank at the Columbus Zoo, and Tommy at the Endangered Ark Foundation, and a full brother, Bo, who, to the best of my knowledge, still performs with the Carden International Circus.
The press release only mentioned the group has two sets of full sisters because Angelica and Sara have an older half-sister, Juliette, whereas Asha and April, and Mable and Piper don't have any half-sisters.
With White Oak intending to breed the elephants from the CEC, they more than likely acquired the younger cows first to have them acclimate to the new facility. Once the younger cows have settled in, the bulls and then the older cows will most likely follow. As for when we could expect the next group of elephants to arrive, it might not be until the fall since new habitats are still being constructed and the summer months are too hot for a move.
To the best of my knowledge, the CEC currently has 20 (8.12.0) elephants remaining. As for which elephants are left, I can confirm that Vance, Casey, Charlie, Osgood, Gunther, P.T., Irvin, Barack, Mysore, Cora, and Asia are there because a fellow forum member confirmed back in September that all 8 bulls are still at the CEC, Mysore was confirmed to still be alive when White Oak announced the first group of elephants had arrived, and White Oak shared photos of Cora and Asia back in September when they announced elephants would be coming to Yulee. As for the others, it's uncertain which cows are still at the CEC or have passed away in the last few years. To the best of my knowledge, there were 35 after the last of the touring elephants retired, Nicole and Karen moved to San Antonio, Rudy and Sundara moved to Columbus, Asha returned from Tulsa, and Smokey moved to Williston. By September 2020, there were 32. At least 3 cows have passed away during that time frame. The identity of these cows has yet to be determined.
* The elephants with an uncertain status are italicized in red.
There is no Myrtle in the list made by our esteemed [Canadian] forumster @Elephant Enthusiast on the status of Asian elephants in North American zoos. It would have to be Aree. It seems that this Myrtle is the clear missing link? She is named specifically by curator Eric Newby.
This article published by The Florida Times-Union states that Myrtle is 16 years old. Aree is the only former Ringling female who is 16. I am positive that they're the same animal.
"Myrtle'' is more than likely Aree since she's listed as being younger than Asha and older than Mable. Also, as stated by @Jaxton, "Myrtle'' is said to be 16 and Aree just turned 16 on April 21st. Aree most likely had a name change during her time at the CEC.
As for why Shirley wasn't a part of the group, there are a few potential reasons. 1. The CEC and White Oak wanted each cow to have a companion during the move. The press release states the elephants were moved in pairs so it's possible Shirley was the odd cow out. 2. She's pregnant and expecting in the very near future. Even though the CEC wasn't actively trying to breed their elephants, it's possible Shirley was cycling and she managed to conceive during a breeding attempt. 3. She passed away. At least 3 cows have passed away during the CEC's blackout so she may be one of them. Also, Shirley was expecting in September 2016 so it's possible she had complications during the pregnancy or labour which resulted in her passing. However, this is all speculation so we probably won't know for certain until more elephants are moved.
The only elephant who’s been confirmed to not be making the move is 75-year-old Mysore. As for the other older cows, those who are quite old or not in the best of health will remain at the CEC for their well-being and to be companions for Mysore.
With this new bull calf Houston has one of the largest herds in the Us with a total of 13 animals 6 bulls, and 7 cows. With only the African lion Safari at 18, the Endangered Ark Foundation at 16, and the Center for Elephant Conservation at 25 being larger. And also with the birth of this brand new calf Thailand has become a father of a total of 21 calves with 7 calves surviving.
That said, there is a very good chance she is indeed pregnant again, however she would not be very far along in her pregnancy, likely only a few months at most.
As @Hyak_II said Shanti is a very round elephant. Although I can not make a good assumption as this is a video, her breasts look very swollen which is usually a sign of pregnancy in a elephant.
That said, there is a very good chance she is indeed pregnant again, however she would not be very far along in her pregnancy, likely only a few months at most.
That said, there is a very good chance she is indeed pregnant again, however she would not be very far along in her pregnancy, likely only a few months at most.
You are right as I was looking for photos and videos of Shanti I realized that she is a very round elephant she could have got that trait from her mother Boize. But thank you for the clarification I very much appreciate it.
As @Hyak_II said Shanti is a very round elephant. Although I can not make a good assumption as this is a video, her breasts look very swollen which is usually a sign of pregnancy in a elephant.
Also the amount of swelling can often tell you the stage of pregnancy that the cow is in but another reason why Shanti's breasts are swollen is she is currently nursing her youngest calf Nelson born just about a year ago and Joy though close to 5 years she still occasionally nurses of her mother.
This move will be perfect for Smithsonian's breeding program, but also for the north american population as a whole with new genetics being brought in from europe the likely hood of most calves be related to one another decreases
This move will be perfect for Smithsonian's breeding program, but also for the north american population as a whole with new genetics being brought in from europe the likely hood of most calves be related to one another decreases
Unfortunately this isn't really new genetics for the North American region. Both cows are out of the Alexander line. Alexander has two full sisters, Lily and Phoebe, living in North America and both of them have multiple calves in the region.
Great! Although this bloodline already exists in the United States, every breeding cow is important. I expected that. But it is very exciting that Trong Nhi could already be pregnant. She reportedly mated with Fahim in Rotterdam, so hopefully successfully.
This is exciting for the NA Asian Elephant program, we have to celebrate every potential breeding cow to keep a sustainable population in the US!
When is the import to take place? Was there a news article or something you can link?
This is exciting for the NA Asian Elephant program, we have to celebrate every potential breeding cow to keep a sustainable population in the US!
When is the import to take place? Was there a news article or something you can link?
I'm also very interested in seeing a credible source for this possible move. Even the girls might not bring over novel genes just consider the imports (bulls) thus far. Ongard and Billy (Denver) in particular. These potential pairings could do a lot for the US collection.
