North American Asian Elephant Population 2025

E Maximus said:
Phoebe has had her baby and it’s a boy
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Really thrilled to have a healthy calf on the ground. Congrats to Phoebe and the elephant team, who I imagine are overjoyed to welcome another calf.

Even more delighted to see my suspicion about her birthing a few nights ago was correct (she went into labour and birthed less than an hour after my previous post!).

A son and a daughter from Sabu is exactly what the doctor would have ordered. As others have mentioned, a son will be able to have far more calves than a female; and that will be crucial for establishing Sabu's genes within the population.

I think another huge benefit of this being a little boy, is that Frankie will finally have a playmate which he absolutely needs going forward. Whilst his younger brother won't be able to engage in much play for a while; in a few years time, Frankie will be able to step into a mentor role for his younger brother, and I can easily see the two becoming quite close. Really good for Frankie, who apparently hasn't had the best luck with Johnson.
 
Honestly, that’s a fairly textbook and appropriate reaction to see from all the animals involved. Frankie pushes his limits with getting too close to the calf and Sundara‘s comfort zone. He’s not acting unnecessarily rough, or aggressive, but just definitely pushing his limits of appropriate social boundaries at the given moment. Sundara corrects him, and when he does not respond appropriately, she increases the intensity of her correction, while still being reasonable. This gets the message across and Frankie backs off. Phoebe is present for the entire interaction, and despite being matriarch, clearly does not feel the need to step in, as Sundara has managed the situation appropriately and Frankie responded appropriately as well.

All in all, a textbook interaction and a good example of a socially well integrated group.
 
Hyak_II said:
Honestly, that’s a fairly textbook and appropriate reaction to see from all the animals involved. Frankie pushes his limits with getting too close to the calf and Sundara‘s comfort zone. He’s not acting unnecessarily rough, or aggressive, but just definitely pushing his limits of appropriate social boundaries at the given moment. Sundara corrects him, and when he does not respond appropriately, she increases the intensity of her correction, while still being reasonable. This gets the message across and Frankie backs off. Phoebe is present for the entire interaction, and despite being matriarch, clearly does not feel the need to step in, as Sundara has managed the situation appropriately and Frankie responded appropriately as well.

All in all, a textbook interaction and a good example of a socially well integrated group.
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Good points! Everything in the video does line up with what I have heard directly from keeper staff about his interactions with Rita. He's curious and needs corrections, but is receptive to corrections. I have a feeling he's seperated now because of both Phoebe's birth and a likelihood that he's begining to push boundaries to try and play with Rita. You can even see her run after him despite Sunny's correction, it wouldn't surprise me if he or she has attempted to iniiate play but due to the size difference it has gone a touch poorly. He doesn't know how to treat a small baby after all, so there's a bit of a learning curve! He always has been said to be a decently respectful calf when corrected properly, so I don't anticipate that he will fail to reintegrate. Just fingers crossed he can do so sooner than later!
Frankie is clearly still showing favoritism to Sunny as well (who is his favorite auntie and his essentially sole playmate as a calf) and not fully getting that he isn't "the baby" anymore lol.
 
Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Good points! Everything in the video does line up with what I have heard directly from keeper staff about his interactions with Rita. He's curious and needs corrections, but is receptive to corrections. I have a feeling he's seperated now because of both Phoebe's birth and a likelihood that he's begining to push boundaries to try and play with Rita. You can even see her run after him despite Sunny's correction, it wouldn't surprise me if he or she has attempted to iniiate play but due to the size difference it has gone a touch poorly. He doesn't know how to treat a small baby after all, so there's a bit of a learning curve! He always has been said to be a decently respectful calf when corrected properly, so I don't anticipate that he will fail to reintegrate. Just fingers crossed he can do so sooner than later!
Frankie is clearly still showing favoritism to Sunny as well (who is his favorite auntie and his essentially sole playmate as a calf) and not fully getting that he isn't "the baby" anymore lol.
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All of which are perfectly normal behaviours as has been stated. Frankie, being the age that he is, is beginning to 'test' the boundaries and like any child, he isn't entirely aware that what he's doing isn't being tolerated.

You can see in the video that Frankie isn't really attempting to engage in play with Rita - it more so seems he's just interacting with her out of curiosity, and he's getting a bit too close for Sunny's liking. Rita then runs after him a little bit as she follows Sunny (potentially mimicking her mum). It's good to see Sunny mindful of their interactions - and even better to see a positive response from Frankie. Phoebe looks like she comes over initially but once she sees the situations resolved, she doesn't see reason to get involved.
 
It appears Frankie was just intending to get the ball. But hiding behind the tire was smart! LOL "Peek a boo Sunny I see you but you can not see me".

It will all work out when Rita is a few months older and will want to play with both boys.
 
Jambo said:
You can see in the video that Frankie isn't really attempting to engage in play with Rita - it more so seems he's just interacting with her out of curiosity, and he's getting a bit too close for Sunny's liking. Rita then runs after him a little bit as she follows Sunny (potentially mimicking her mum). It's good to see Sunny mindful of their interactions - and even better to see a positive response from Frankie.
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An important thing to note as well is that it has been over a month since this video was filmed (why I brought up that perhaps she and/or Frankie have attempted to play in more recent interactions, not this specific one) and as Rita continues to grow she is likely to begin to seek out play with Frankie, who has probably responded with behavior that has, expectedly, been too rough. The latest update I heard was from a docent who said that Frankie was being kept seperate due to that fact, but it wasn't directly confirmed by a keeper. So it appears that over the past month-ish he hasn't been kept with Sunny, Rudy and Rita Jean. Of course not entirely surprising, but I'll be curious how quickly the zoo is able to reintroduce him!
 
Very heartwarming to see the two calves interact so soon. This little boy is already seeming so playful, it won't be long before he and Rita Jean are truly playing and learning together!

It is amazing to see Columbus finally making some true progress with their breeding program, having mulriple calves on the ground in a calendar year is a fabulous achievement. Fingers crossed they're proactive going forward (as I anticipate they will be) with late 2028 or early 2029 births from Sunny and Phoebe once again!
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
Has a timeline been said about Raja's arrival yet, he was supposed to move a year ago, but the pregnancies probably delayed that?
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The last thing I've heard stated by a keeper was late this year. However, I believe a reputable regular at St Louis has stated that the most recent timeline is early 2026. Both are realistic options imo, but my fingers are crossed for this year for a multitude of reasons.
 
ZCChip said:
Seems Johnson will be the breeding bull for this round.
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It would make the most sense! Given his record of nearly a dozen girls, it would be a strong shot at getting Sunny a second daughter and Phoebe a much needed first daughter. As long as his behavioral issues resolve, I anticipate they'd aim to have him introduced and spending time regularly with the herd by next summer.
 
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Frankie_number_1_fan said:
It would make the most sense! Given his record of nearly a dozen girls, it would be a strong shot at getting Sunny a second daughter and Phoebe a much needed first daughter. As long as his behavioral issues resolve, I anticipate they'd aim to have him introduced and spending time regularly with the herd by next summer.
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Do we know whether Johnson was ever introduced to his calves at ALS?

It's possible we might have to wait longer, depending on when the zoo (and of course the cows themselves) feel it's the right time and are comfortable being grouped with Johnson. The fact that he hasn't spent a lot of time with the herd as of yet might play a part in them being willing to introduce him at a later stage.

For the calves safety, I've seen zoos wait until the calves are over a year old, however some zoos introduce the bull much earlier (although in those cases the bull is close with the herd and is familiar with calves).
 
He *was* introduced to his calves at Rockton, and did quite well with them, as well!

Truthfully, this change in temperament in Johnson after the transfer is quite interesting to hear about. Everything I’ve heard of him, from talking directly with people who worked with him at ALS, made him out to be a very mild mannered and easy to work around animal, lol. Not sure what’s happened at Columbus to bring out this very different side of him.
 
Hyak_II said:
He *was* introduced to his calves at Rockton, and did quite well with them, as well!

Truthfully, this change in temperament in Johnson after the transfer is quite interesting to hear about. Everything I’ve heard of him, from talking directly with people who worked with him at ALS, made him out to be a very mild mannered and easy to work around animal, lol. Not sure what’s happened at Columbus to bring out this very different side of him.
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Maybe it was the differences in the schedules? Maybe he was used to be out with a certain cow.

It will be interesting how things change by the time Sunny and Phoebe will be ready to breed.
 
Hyak_II said:
He *was* introduced to his calves at Rockton, and did quite well with them, as well!

Truthfully, this change in temperament in Johnson after the transfer is quite interesting to hear about. Everything I’ve heard of him, from talking directly with people who worked with him at ALS, made him out to be a very mild mannered and easy to work around animal, lol. Not sure what’s happened at Columbus to bring out this very different side of him.
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The only thing I can keep of is that the change in enviornment + pregnant females might have caused him to react differently. He has only ever lived at one facility around essentially the same cows for his entire life after all, this is a huge change for him. The mix of unfamiliarity and pregnancy hormones could certianly be enough to cause some "regression" in behavior for lack of a better word. From what I've heard, he seemed overly excited by the cows and just rough with Frankie.

He's had over a year to settle in now, so I don't anticipate that he will have long-term issues with the cows if he does indeed have experience around calves (and I believe he should be well acquainted with other bulls as well). A Columbus docent mentioned they've been grouping him more with Frankie, but I've visited often and have yet to see them out together. A keeper also mentioned semi-recently that they didn't plan to introduce Johnson to Rita Jean until she was "much bigger" but I'm sure they're taking cues from the group and would allow sooner intros should his behavior begin to reflect a more docile nature.
 
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Frankie_number_1_fan said:
The only thing I can keep of is that the change in enviornment + pregnant females might have caused him to react differently. He has only ever lived at one facility around essentially the same cows for his entire life after all, this is a huge change for him. The mix of unfamiliarity and pregnancy hormones could certianly be enough to cause some "regression" in behavior for lack of a better word. From what I've heard, he seemed overly excited by the cows and just rough with Frankie.

He's had over a year to settle in now, so I don't anticipate that he will have long-term issues with the cows if he does indeed have experience around calves (and I believe he should be well acquainted with other bulls as well). A Columbus docent mentioned they've been grouping him more with Frankie, but I've visited often and have yet to see them out together. A keeper also mentioned semi-recently that they didn't plan to introduce Johnson to Rita Jean until she was "much bigger" but I'm sure they're taking cues from the group and would allow sooner intros should his behavior begin to reflect a more docile nature.
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Do Columbus' elephants have tactile contact with one another even with barriers in the way? As far as these different social groupings go - figure they all communicate using infrasound :D
 
StoppableSan said:
Do Columbus' elephants have tactile contact with one another even with barriers in the way?
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I believe the stall set-up of the barn does allow for barrier interactions in specific areas. One area has been shown in videos of Columbus' recent calves as they've been introduced to the rest of the herd, I'm not sure if there are more areas. If I had to wager a guess, I would imagine that Frankie in particular is having frequent barrier interactions for socialization purposes.
 
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