North American Asian Elephant Reproduction

Hyak_II said:
Jati is likely still cycling, just unable to conceive.

Actually most cows will cycle into their late 40's/early 50's, it's usually uterine pathologies that stop them from getting pregnant, not age.

While I can't comment anything for certain, some bull elephants definitely seem to mate just "for fun", since they will breed cows that are old, flat liners, not cycling, or pregnant, or when held in bachelor groups, will "breed" other, sub dominant bulls.
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That’s really fascinating. I’ve heard of homosexual activity observed in a variety of animal taxa before, but never elephants. I also find it so mesmerizing the way they seem to “mourn” their dead, listlessly nudging the carcass of a deceased herd member for days on end in the wild. They’re so much more like people than we give them credit for.
 
Akula said:
I’m new here but African lion Safari has had another Elephant calf.
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Mother is Lilly (1985). An incredible achievement as Luna was born only 27 months earlier.

This is her seventh calf:

Unamed (F) 1990-1990
Piccolo (F) Born 1994
Albert (M) Born 1998
Logan (M) 2006-2006
Hannah (F) Born 2014
Luna (F) Born 2018
Imke (F) Born 2020
 
Arguably even more impressive, African Lion Safari's Natasha, born in 1994, has had 5 calves, all of whom are still alive, and she is set to have #6 on the way at any time, if it hasn't been born already.

Actually on another interesting note, Natasha comes from the largest, most successful matriline in North America. Her rather impressive lineage is as follows:

Whimpy (1970)
  • Shoney (M) (1981-1983) sire Buke
  • Colonel (M) (1991) sire Buke
  • Natasha (F) (1994) sire Tusko
    • Opal (F) (2005) sire Rex
      • Anna Mae (F) (2015) sire Johnson
      • Onyx (M) (2018) sire Johnson
    • Jake (M) (2009) sire Rex
    • Nellie (F) (2013) sire Johnson
    • Rose (F) (2016) sire Johnson
    • Sunita (F) (2018) sire Johnson
  • Valarie (F)(2007) sire Tommy
  • Hugo (M) (2011) sire Tommy
  • Dorie Marie (F) (2015) sire Tommy
  • Cameron Lee (M) (2020) sire Tommy
A total of 15 animals over 4 generations, all of whom are still alive besides one. Not too bad at all, especially when that number is likely to increase by another 5-10 animals over the next 6 years!
 
Hyak_II said:
Arguably even more impressive, African Lion Safari's Natasha, born in 1994, has had 5 calves, all of whom are still alive, and she is set to have #6 on the way at any time, if it hasn't been born already.

Actually on another interesting note, Natasha comes from the largest, most successful matriline in North America. Her rather impressive lineage is as follows:

Whimpy (1970)
  • Shoney (M) (1981-1983) sire Buke
  • Colonel (M) (1991) sire Buke
  • Natasha (F) (1994) sire Tusko
    • Opal (F) (2005) sire Rex
      • Anna Mae (F) (2015) sire Johnson
      • Onyx (M) (2018) sire Johnson
    • Jake (M) (2009) sire Rex
    • Nellie (F) (2013) sire Johnson
    • Rose (F) (2016) sire Johnson
    • Sunita (F) (2018) sire Johnson
  • Valarie (F)(2007) sire Tommy
  • Hugo (M) (2011) sire Tommy
  • Dorie Marie (F) (2015) sire Tommy
  • Cameron Lee (M) (2020) sire Tommy
A total of 15 animals over 4 generations, all of whom are still alive besides one. Not too bad at all, especially when that number is likely to increase by another 5-10 animals over the next 6 years!
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How many elephants can their barn hold?. Do you know how many breeding bulls are kept on site at any one time?
 
Zorro said:
How many elephants can their barn hold?. Do you know how many breeding bulls are kept on site at any one time?
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I’m not sure about the Barn capacity, but they currently have two bulls, George (1999) and Johnson (2001). They don’t live together, so I would assume they have the space to hold the female herd and then these two bulls separate.
 
Jambo said:
I’m not sure about the Barn capacity, but they currently have two bulls, George (1999) and Johnson (2001). They don’t live together, so I would assume they have the space to hold the female herd and then these two bulls separate.
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Yes they do they have a number of yards out the back. I have been in the old barn but not seen the new barn. Yes the females do have a larger area!
 
Zorro said:
How many elephants can their barn hold?. Do you know how many breeding bulls are kept on site at any one time?
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At the moment, it would appear that they're equipped to hold a maximum of 3 individual adult bulls managed only in protected contact. They have a total of four yards, three of which are equipped to handle bulls.

As for cows, in theory, their only limiting factor is barn space, and if I had to venture a guess, if really pushed, they could probably hold at least 20-22 animals in total, and quite possibly more. Their barn is actually one of the largest in North America (only a few of the "super giants" like Oregon and Omaha have larger indoor houses), and since all of the indoor housing is both off display, and the barn itself is largely out of view of the public, they can devote 100% of the space to the animals, as well as expand fairly quickly and cheaply if need be, since expansion is purely for functionality, not looks or visitor experience.

Honestly, given the location of their elephant area, if needed, they could very easily double their indoor space, and add a number of large outdoor pens as well. Really the only thing holding them back from expanding to as large and diverse a herd as they could ever want is their own preferences on how large they want the herd. Selling off 3 or 4 of their breeding cows to the states would likely pay for all the construction costs of expanding, and they can get bulls for the cost of transport from Europe. With four cows currently breeding, and other 7 females under the age of 10, with more babies on the way, even the loss of four females would put basically no dent in their breeding program, and if anything just let it expand due to the extra space created.

During the off season (from October to mid May), basically their entire female group is allowed to just roam around the forests in the back of the property, and only stalled up at night. During the on season, of course, things are a bit different, but still, the herd is managed very flexibly.
 
Hyak_II said:
At the moment, it would appear that they're equipped to hold a maximum of 3 individual adult bulls managed only in protected contact. They have a total of four yards, three of which are equipped to handle bulls.

As for cows, in theory, their only limiting factor is barn space, and if I had to venture a guess, if really pushed, they could probably hold at least 20-22 animals in total, and quite possibly more. Their barn is actually one of the largest in North America (only a few of the "super giants" like Oregon and Omaha have larger indoor houses), and since all of the indoor housing is both off display, and the barn itself is largely out of view of the public, they can devote 100% of the space to the animals, as well as expand fairly quickly and cheaply if need be, since expansion is purely for functionality, not looks or visitor experience.

Honestly, given the location of their elephant area, if needed, they could very easily double their indoor space, and add a number of large outdoor pens as well. Really the only thing holding them back from expanding to as large and diverse a herd as they could ever want is their own preferences on how large they want the herd. Selling off 3 or 4 of their breeding cows to the states would likely pay for all the construction costs of expanding, and they can get bulls for the cost of transport from Europe. With four cows currently breeding, and other 7 females under the age of 10, with more babies on the way, even the loss of four females would put basically no dent in their breeding program, and if anything just let it expand due to the extra space created.

During the off season (from October to mid May), basically their entire female group is allowed to just roam around the forests in the back of the property, and only stalled up at night. During the on season, of course, things are a bit different, but still, the herd is managed very flexibly.
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They must be doing a lot of things right. I was lucky to get shown around the back in 97, I was impressed with how they kept so many there with such a impressive breeding record. Has the old barn been removed now?, I still have pics of the inside of it. I knew back then they wanted to build a far larger barn to house 15 I believe. They had Rex at the time in one of the bull yards out the back. The daily swim in the big lake was a high light of the day with all the herd walking in single file until they got to the beach them the mad rush into the water.
 
BIG NEWS!!!

The Houston Zoo just announced that two of their elephants are expecting this spring!!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=761610734757658
More Elephants to Love at the Houston Zoo - The Houston Zoo

The two expectant mothers are 10-year-old Tupelo, who's expecting her first calf in about two months, and 38-year-old Tess, who's expecting her fifth calf in about three months.

Tupelo conceived through artificial insemination, since she's related to all the bulls at the zoo, while her mother Tess conceived after breeding with Thailand, the Houston Zoo's 56-year-old breeding bull.
 
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Elephant Enthusiast said:
BIG NEWS!!!

The Houston Zoo just announced that two of their elephants are expecting this spring!!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=761610734757658
More Elephants to Love at the Houston Zoo - The Houston Zoo

The two expectant mothers are 10-year-old Tupelo, who's expecting her first calf in about two months, and 38-year-old Tess, who's expecting her fifth calf in about three months.

Tupelo conceived through artificial insemination, since she's related to all the bulls at the zoo, while her mother Tess conceived after breeding with Thailand, the Houston Zoo's 56-year-old breeding bull.
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Brilliant news! :) Tess is 40 years old, and it’s great news she has managed to fall pregnant again. Any idea which bull was used for AI? It will be wonderful to see a multi generational family of elephants at Houston, with Tupelo’s calf.
 
Hyak_II said:
EXCELLENT NEWS!!

Tupelo at Houston has given birth, to a healthy female calf! You couldn't ask for more :)

This pushes Houston up to 12 animals, with 3 intact generations. Also of note, this is Houston's first successful second generation birth, and only the second in their history.
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That is sooo exiting!:D
Here is the link to the Facebook post about it:
Log into Facebook
 
So I've been doing some calculations on first-time Asian Elephant mothers in North America and I thought I'd share the information I found. (Successful) means the birth was successful, if that is not next to the title then the number accounts for both successful and unsuccessful births(stillbirths, miscarriages, etc.).

Average Age of a First-Time Mother: 18.56
Average Age of a First-Time Mother (Successful): 16.84
Average Age of a Captive-Born First-Time Mother: 12.1
Average Age of a Captive-Born First-Time Mother (Successful): 12.31
Youngest First-Time Mother: 5.78 (Kimba)
Youngest First-Time Mother (Successful): 8.71 (Pet)
Oldest First-Time Mother: 43.5 (Mama Mary)
Oldest First-Time Mother (Successful): 31.72 (Tamu)
 
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