San Antonio Zoo San Antonio Zoo News 2016

I sure wasn't expecting this:
LUCKY HAS A NEW FRIEND! This morning, we welcomed "Nicole," a 40-year-old Asian elephant to our zoo. She arrived today courtesy of our new partnership with Ringling Bros Center for Elephant Conservation. She and Lucky have been introduced, and their habitat will be closed to the public while they are getting to know each other. Stay tuned for more information on when you can come to visit our newest addition!
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Lucky and Nicole are no longer separated (they have free contact with each other). The elephant and giraffe exhibits are not accessible to the public, however, while they are still getting acclimated.
 
Did Nicole need to be quarantined or was she somehow exempt?

I saw some pictures of their being introduced, it looks like either Nicole was more comfortable meeting a new Elephant or I am not good at telling them apart. I guess Lucky is going to have an adjustment period getting used to having an Elephant around again. What is Nicole's personality like, does anyone know? Since Lucky prefers humans I hope that she is either a very engaging Elephant that will win Lucky over or that she is sort of introverted herself.
 
I'm happy Lucky will now have some company, though doesn't the new AZA accrediation policy require a minimum of 3 elephants? I know ringing has plenty of elephants they could've sent over with Nicole however i'm sure the only reason they sent one is the space available. So again while i'm glad Lucky will have a companion deep down i think acquiring another elephant may have been the wrong choice and a decision based possibly on revenue, because again they still aren't meeting new AZA standards on herd size to provide dynamic herd socialization and the "new' renovated exhibit hardly is sufficient for 2 elephants. I think Lucky would be a great addition to a young herd and i can see why it was a easy decision for ringing to send Nicole to SA so they could free up some space with all the performing elephants returning and so they can ensure they have room for the breeding aged females that will remain at CEC, thus excluding Nicole.
 
@wensleydale:
I don't know about quarantine, but I don't think Nicole was. There wouldn't have really been enough space, anyways. They seemed to be interacting fine but as I'm no elephant expert, nor can I tell the two apart, I can't be positive.

@ctfctf7:
The San Antonio Zoo is exempt from the three elephant rule because Lucky is largely antisocial.
 
While I'm happy Lucky is not alone anymore I think that keeping that monstrosity of an exhibit open even if slightly renovated is a big mistake.
 
GraysonDP said:
While I'm happy Lucky is not alone anymore I think that keeping that monstrosity of an exhibit open even if slightly renovated is a big mistake.
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The exhibit did get a lot better with fairly little change... Part of the path was taken out to enlarge the exhibit, it is mostly covered in dirt (presumably grass), and the pool is better.
 
Lucky and Nicole are now viewable by the public. I assume the giraffe exhibit also is no longer blocked off.
 
Whilst recent attention has been focused on elephants, a Congo Peafowl hatched on 10 June.
(There seem to have been few recent successful breedings within the North American zoo population)
 
So, let me get this straight.

Lucky doesn't like other elephants. Lucky prefers to be alone. Lucky should stay alone.

Zoo proceeds to give Lucky a friend and the two are in the same enclosure without barriers within a day.

I've seen political campaigns operate with less spin less than this zoo. What a mess. Should have left Lucky alone until she passed then radically renovate then entire area until it was suited for more elephants. Or phase them out, which given San Antonio's budget, may be the better option.
 
Trowaman said:
So, let me get this straight.

Lucky doesn't like other elephants. Lucky prefers to be alone. Lucky should stay alone.

Zoo proceeds to give Lucky a friend and the two are in the same enclosure without barriers within a day.

I've seen political campaigns operate with less spin less than this zoo. What a mess. Should have left Lucky alone until she passed then radically renovate then entire area until it was suited for more elephants. Or phase them out, which given San Antonio's budget, may be the better option.
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I was thinking the exact same thing. The zoo went on a massive campaign and PR effort to convince people Lucky was a different kind of elephant; one that wants to be alone and prefers the company of humans over another elephant and will live out the remainder of her days being pampered and alone. Than literally overnight brings in a new elephant which basically renders whatever they said about Lucky's social behavior previously useless and seems contradictory to their knowledge of what Lucky prefers. Very fishy over there.

Glad I no longer work for them. Once Tim took over it all became a mess. Worse than politics. And he has the local media wrapped around his finger and they tell a very different story of what they perceive and what actually happens at the zoo, still have a few connections left at the zoo and having worked there for 3.5 years for both McCusker and Tim the attitude and vibe of the place made it hostile to work once Tim and the SeaWorld gang took over.
 
But how was Lucky with the Elephants she knew before this? What was she like with her former exhibit mates? If I remember correctly Nicole was chosen especially because they thought she might get along with Lucky, maybe she was chosen especially because she had a track record of winning less sociable Elephants over. And how do we know that part of the reason Lucky is interacting with Nicole is because of the novelty of being around another Elephant?
 
MikeG said:
Whilst recent attention has been focused on elephants, a Congo Peafowl hatched on 10 June.
(There seem to have been few recent successful breedings within the North American zoo population)
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The SSP only wants male birds right now, so all female eggs aren't allowed to hatch.
 
Lucky was generally bullied by all of her other elephant "friends". With Nicole, they actively were seeking an elephant to suit Lucky, rather than acquiring any old elephant just so they could have more than one.
 
jayjds2 said:
Lucky was generally bullied by all of her other elephant "friends". With Nicole, they actively were seeking an elephant to suit Lucky, rather than acquiring any old elephant just so they could have more than one.
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I don't doubt that this was the Zoo's rationale behind the decision to bring in Nicole, but it is confounding that the Zoo spent so many years arguing that Lucky was a solitary elephant (defending its decision against activists and others who believed that it was cruel to keep her alone) and didn't need company. For the past three years, Zoo officials have said that they would keep Lucky alone until she died (which they anticipated would be over the next few years) and would not seek to add another elephant until the transition to African elephants upon her passing. Now, however, with no fanfare, the Zoo has added another female elephant (still short of the AZA's requirement), leading many of us to question the previous statements made. Isn't this the same thing the Zoo did when it brought in Boo - an attempt to get Lucky some companionship? It flat out contradicts all the statements over the last three years, however, and doesn't move the zoo any nearer in the long term to ultimate AZA compliance (as, if Lucky does die in the next few years, there will once again be a solo elephant, albeit presumably Nicole is not a "solitary" individual like the Zoo claimed Lucky was). As Trowaman and Texaszoo pointed out above, this just looks awful for the zoo and undercuts any arguments they have made in opposition to anti-cap protesters.
 
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