Taronga Western Plains Zoo Thong Dee's Calf (2016)

I thought it'd be good to have a thread for updates on the calf, through the final stages of pregnancy, through to it's birth and first few weeks of life, since it'll be one of the highest profile births of 2016.
 
The whole region is rather new to the elephant breeding programme. The first birth in Australia was in 2009 and there have since been further eights births (two more at Taronga, five at Melbounre and one at Taronga Western Plains Zoo). New Zealand is yet to have an elephant birth but Auckland is likely to be the first.

I believe Taronga Western Plains Zoos tried unsuccessfuly to breed their herd of 1.4 African elephants. I'm not sure why they were unsuccessful, but I know 0.3 elephants arrived sometime before the 1.1 import, so maybe the orginal cows were too old by the time a bull arrived.
 
Zoofan15 said:
The whole region is rather new to the elephant breeding programme. The first birth in Australia was in 2009 and there have since been further eights births (two more at Taronga, five at Melbounre and one at Taronga Western Plains Zoo). New Zealand is yet to have an elephant birth but Auckland is likely to be the first.

I believe Taronga Western Plains Zoos tried unsuccessfuly to breed their herd of 1.4 African elephants. I'm not sure why they were unsuccessful, but I know 0.3 elephants arrived sometime before the 1.1 import, so maybe the orginal cows were too old by the time a bull arrived.
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A real pity that Dubbo was unsuccessful with the breeding and also did not continue with Africans. I appreciate that there is a need for extra space for the now expanding Asian population (particularly the growing number of bulls), but a population of Africans would have better suited the grassland style of the open-range zoos.
 
tetrapod said:
A real pity that Dubbo was unsuccessful with the breeding and also did not continue with Africans. I appreciate that there is a need for extra space for the now expanding Asian population (particularly the growing number of bulls), but a population of Africans would have better suited the grassland style of the open-range zoos.
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I agree! I forgot to include that a male (David) arrived with the 0.3 African elephants from the UK, but he died at the age of 17.

The 1.1 that joined Cherie, Yum Yum and Cuddles were called Congo and Toto. Congo was a proven bull, having sired three calves prior to his arrival at TWPZ.
 
According to the elephant database, the African elephants were:

Male:

Congo (1958): Arrived 1983, died 2000

Female:

Yum Yum (1969): Arrived 1977, died 2010
Cuddles (1973): Arrived 1977, still alive
Cheri (1974): Arrived 1977, died 2007
Toto (1968): Arrived 1983, died 1984

So in conclusion, when the proven bull, Congo, arrived in 1983, there were four cows of reproductive age: Toto (15yrs), Yum Yum (14yrs), Cuddles (10yrs) and Cheri (9yrs). Why breeding never occurred is a mystery???
 
I see he's already in with **** Tip (that's if she wasn't present at the birth anyway). I wonder how long until they introduce him to Luk Chai and Pathi Harn. Bearing in mind Bong Su was introduced to his son, Man Jai, when Man Jai was only a year old, there could be similar plans at the TWPZ down the line. Ideally, this latest calf would join the two adolscent males to create a bachelor herd.

Does anyone know what progress (if any) has been made in breeding Tang Mo? I understand she has difficulty breeding naturally, but is there any physical reason she can't retain a calf if she were to conceive through AI?
 
I can't enter as I don't live in Australia but I especially like these Thai names if anyone wants to enter them:

Chatri - brave knight

Chet - brother

Chok Dee - very good luck

Thut - ambassador
 
Update:

Sabai now weighs 220kgs!

Sabai has been introduced to Luk Chai successfully. I wonder if they'll introduce him to Pathi Harn in the near future. They'll have to be certain Porntip is not in season if they plan to do any reintroductions of Pathi Harn. Maybe they're hoping Luk Chai will breed with Porntip. While a founder (Gung, Bong Su or Putra Mas) would be more preferable than a first generation male, natural mating does of course produce a more balanced gender ration than AI, which favours males seemingly.
 
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At some stage another bull/s will be required for the Australian program to broaden the gene pool with only the two bulls successful to date (not including the calf sired by Perth zoos bull). There are a few European zoos with excess young bulls that perhaps could be sourced maybe a swap for some of the young bulls bred in oz?
 
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