North American Asian Elephant Population

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo has announced the winning names for the naming contest of their male Asian elephant calf: Help name the new baby elephant! The public can choose from the following five names that were provided by five contestants:

Ajay (Uh-JAY) -- "Invincible"

Anurak (Ah-NEW-rak) -- Male angel in Thai mythology

Chakrii (JAK-gree) -- "King"

Luk Chai (Look-CHAI) -- "Son"

Rune (Roo-NEE) -- "Happy"

Personally, of the five names, Rune is the best choice as Ajay, Anurak, and Chakrii don't roll off the tongue that well while Luk Chai is very different from the names of the other elephants.
 
Elephant Enthusiast said:
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo has announced the winning names for the naming contest of their male Asian elephant calf: Help name the new baby elephant! The public can choose from the following five names that were provided by five contestants:

Ajay (Uh-JAY) -- "Invincible"

Anurak (Ah-NEW-rak) -- Male angel in Thai mythology

Chakrii (JAK-gree) -- "King"

Luk Chai (Look-CHAI) -- "Son"

Rune (Roo-NEE) -- "Happy"

Personally, of the five names, Rune is the best choice as Ajay, Anurak, and Chakrii don't roll off the tongue that well while Luk Chai is very different from the names of the other elephants.
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I prefer Luk Chai, i’m a bit bias though because there is a 9 year old male asian elephant at Taronga zoo.
 
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I like Jakhrii. There aren't others in our population here with this or similar names. Who's the mom? I believe it was Karina who had a stillbirth in 2015, and I don't remember whether they thought she could be bred again.
 
AmbikaFan said:
Who's the mom? I believe it was Karina who had a stillbirth in 2015, and I don't remember whether they thought she could be bred again.
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The mother of the new calf is 0.1 Mali (Indy x Targa) 1997-02-28.

You're correct. Kirina delievered a stillborn calf in July of 2015. Despite the death of her first calf, Kirina should continue to breed as she's of prime breeding age, she's genetically valuable to the population, and she's important to the reproduction of Asian elephants in North America. Excluding her from breeding would have dire consequences on her fertility and inhibit Kirina from growing her own matriarchal herd. However, Kirina's reproductive viability will dictate whether she can successfully reproduce.
 
My mind's a tossup between Chakrii, Luk Chai, and Anurak.

Not to be morbid, but if they name it Ajay, won't it be ironic if it dies?
 
Panya sounds wonderful, a great ambassador for the species.

Does anyone know how Johti and Surapa, the ladies from Buffalo, are doing at Audobon? They had never gotten along and had to be kept separately. Did either befriend Panya or Jean? Did their own relationship improve? Surapa had a lovely, sunny, radiant disposition, so I always wondered if she could socialize normally with elephants other than Johti. I guess the same could be pondered about Johti flourishing without Surapa. I'd love for there to be some happy ending to their story for both their sakes and for the people of Buffalo who REALLY loved these girls and their zoo as a vital part of their community.
 
Updates & Changes within the Population:

Have Trunk Will Travel has moved their facility from Perris, California to Fredericksburg, Texas. In addition, the company has changed their name from Have Trunk Will Travel to Hill Country Elephant Preserve.

Hill Country Elephant Preserve - Home
The Preserve - Discover Elephants
Have Trunk Will Travel moves to Texas - Animal Defenders International

Hill Country Elephant Preserve - Fredericksburg, Texas, USA
0.1 Dixie 1965.00.00
0.1 Kitty 1966.00.00
0.1 Tai 1968.00.00
0.1 Rosie 1984.00.00
0.1 Becky 1987.00.00

Annette, the female Asian elephant at Elephant Walk in Gainesville, Florida, has the official name of Essex. In addition, Essex was born in 1974 instead of 1960 which makes her 45 years old instead of 59 years old.

My Best Friend Is An Elephant - Barcroft Animals
The elephant in the room: Controversial animal rides stay at Maryland Renaissance Festival - Capital Gazette

Elephant Walk - Gainesville, Florida, USA
0.1 Essex 1974.00.00
 
From their website:
The Preserve and Hill Country Elephant Preserve are committed to doing their part to help save elephants from extinction.
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Most of the elephants besides Becky are too old to healthily breed anyway, unless they're planning on bringing in more or a bull for breeding.
 
Yi Qi said:
From their website: "The Preserve and Hill Country Elephant Preserve are committed to doing their part to help save elephants from extinction." Most of the elephants besides Becky are too old to healthily breed anyway, unless they're planning on bringing in more or a bull for breeding.
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Even though the Hill Country Elephant Preserve doesn't breed their elephants, they're still doing their part to save elephants from extinction. While researching about the changes that have occurred at Have Trunk Will Travel, I came across this video: Hill Country Elephant Preserve - "Elephant Ambassadors" | Vimeo. The seven minute video explains why they left California and moved to Texas, how they're contributing to elephant conservation in range countries, and how they're inspiring the next generation to conserve and protect our wildlife.
 
I suppose I'll always associate Have Trunk with those videos showing how they mistreated their elephants. They were a for-profit company of performing elephants, and after those videos, I've never been able to shake the thought of them not as elephant lovers, but folks out to make a buck. I can't help but think that this new incarnation as a not-for-profit seems simply a new way to get the most money for their care, not quite the incredibly loving portrait painted on their web page. As a not-for-profit, they can list use of the land and all elephant care as expenses--things they were doing already. In addition, they can continue to amortize the "loss" of each elephant's value as an asset as they age and now pay themselves salaries. The Carson and Barnes Circus and Ringling both created not-for-profit arms for their circus animals, but love of the elephant was always so apparent. Thank God the Have Trunk girls will finally have a better life, but I just wish it didn't seem to still be all about money.
 
@AmbikaFan Exactly my thoughts. Sure, the owners might have changed, but I am holding them with a Sifto-sized pile of salt. Ideally, i'd send Becky to Houston to breed with Thai or someplace else and send the rest to various elephant sanctuaries or just let them live the rest of their days out in peace with minor demonstrations.
 
Yi Qi said:
@AmbikaFan Exactly my thoughts. Sure, the owners might have changed, but I am holding them with a Sifto-sized pile of salt. Ideally, i'd send Becky to Houston to breed with Thai or someplace else and send the rest to various elephant sanctuaries or just let them live the rest of their days out in peace with minor demonstrations.
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In fact, I don't think their not-for-profit status prevents them doing what they've always done--rent out their elephants for rides, weddings, or films. They moved to get away from the bullhook ban, change their name and image, and encourage/accept tax-deductible donations.
 
After consulting with the Denver Zoo and the Audubon Zoo via email, I was able to obtain two transfer dates:

1.0 Chuck and 1.0 Jake were transferred from the African Lion Safari to the Denver Zoo on September 23, 2018.

0.1 Jothi and 0.1 Surapa were transferred from the Buffalo Zoo to the Audubon Zoo on October 31, 2018.
 
Just curious. I went to the link on page 1 for the studbook, and it leads to an error page. Does anyone have a link to the most recent studbook?
 
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