Yes I was aware of that I was just referring to the major city zoos of Sydney,Auckland, Melbourne and Perth.
One of the many positives here is hierarchy amongst the four females is partially resolved in that Pak Boon is established as the matriarch over Tang Mo. Though there’s the potential for hierarchy to be disrupted following a move, everything we’ve heard suggests this is a fairly linear hierarchy that Burma and Permai will then be able to integrate with. Permai has lived all her adult life as a subordinate female and Burma may well be willing to relinquish the responsibility to a younger cow such as Pak Boon.
I too would be surprised if Sydney Zoo phase out of elephants anytime soon. Aside from being promoted as a point of difference (as they concede their point of difference of holding the only rhinoceros in Sydney), they spent a significant amount of money to bring the bulls over from Europe. Long term, I anticipate one of Sydney’s bulls could be transferred to Melbourne, who have said they’d look for a new bull once Luk Chai sires the next cohort of calves.
Breeding at Dubbo With conformation Pak Boon (1992) and Tang Mo (1999) will be transferring to Monarto, this means Taronga Western Plains Zoo will no longer have to allocate space to these two additional cows in their future planning. At a glance, it appears the two cows would add two additional elephants to the herd; but the implications are greater when you consider space would need to be allocated for breeding from Pak Boon. She’s a reproductively viable cow. To not breed from her would be a massive loss to the region given she’s now unrepresented. What I wonder is how this will affect Dubbo’s breeding plans. They’re attempting to breed from Anjalee now (who may already be pregnant); while the decision to retire Thong Dee (1997) and Porntip (1992) was being considered. At a minimum, I would expect to see Porntip breed again and if Anjalee has conceived already, they may look at undertaking this sooner rather than later so the calves aren’t born more than a year apart.
Whether Anjalee manages to concieve may also determine whether Thong Dee is breed from again. At the present time Thong Dee is well represented (mainly via her first son, Luk Chai), but Dubbo may wish for an additional matriarchal line besides just Porntip and her daughter, Kanlaya. A daughter from Thong Dee would be the best case scenario and in the event they do give her the green light for a final calf, Pathi Harn would likely be given the go for his first offspring.
I agree. I think we can guarantee we won’t see another mating from Gunn and Thong Dee as a third son would be highly unnecessary. It’d be nice to see Pathi Harn have an opportunity to breed, especially if Anjalee doesn’t conceive. Due to space, it appears they don’t want three calves, but I was initially hopeful they’d consider having a cohort of three calves like Melbourne. Though I’m glad they’re prioritising Anjalee in breeding, I would have thought it’d have been beneficial for Porntip to produce a calf first (even if only be a few months) to compound whatever prior knowledge Anjalee has around calves. Hopefully she proves a good mother as all going to plan, she’ll be Kanlaya’s first role model as a mother for the birth/neonatal phase.
Two calves would surely be the ideal compromise between breeding from all three cows and only breeding from Anjalee. Bearing in mind Kanlaya isn’t going to be breeding until 14 years of age and that we’re unlikely to see natural birth intervals, the below plan seems reasonable: Anjalee: 2026 Porntip: 2026 Anjalee: 2032 Kanlaya: 2032 Bull calves born 2026 would have begun their transition out of the herd by 2032 and any cows born 2026 would be an ideal age to observe maternal skills when the 2032 calves are born.
There are currently 8.19 elephants in Australasia: 8.18 in Australia 0.1 in New Zealand Here is a list of them (also on the first page of this thread): Spoiler: Australasia Elephant Population 2024 Current Population Auckland Zoo: 0.1 Burma (00/00/1982) Wild x Wild; Imported 1990 Australia Zoo: 0.1 Megawati (19/07/1999) Sidarta x Umri; Imported 2019 0.1 Widya (21/05/2001) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2019 0.1 Christina (01/12/2009) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2019 0.1 Raflesia (00/11/2014) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2019 Melbourne Zoo: 1.0 Luk Chai (04/07/2009) Gung x Thong Dee 1.0 Roi-Yim (25/11/2022) Luk Chai x Mali 0.1 Mek Kapah (00/00/1973) Wild x Wild; Imported 1978 0.1 Dokkoon (00/00/1993) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2006 0.1 Kulab (00/00/2000) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2006 0.1 Num-Oi (00/00/2001) Num Sek x Lampoon; Imported 2006 0.1 Mali (16/01/2010) Bong Su x Dokkoon 0.1 Aiyara (16/11/2022) Luk Chai x Dokkoon 0.1 Kati (01/01/2023) Luk Chai x Num Oi Perth Zoo: 1.0 Putra Mas (00/00/1989) Wild x Wild; Imported 1992 0.1 Permai (00/00/1989) Wild x Wild; Imported 1992 Sydney Zoo: 1.0 Kavi (17/07/2014) Upali x Yasmin; Imported 2020 1.0 Ashoka (19/08/2014) Upali x Anak; Imported 2020 Taronga Zoo: 0.1 Pak Boon (00/00/1992) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2006 0.1 Tang Mo (00/00/1999) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2006 Taronga Western Plains Zoo: 1.0 Gung (00/00/2000) Unknown x Unknown; Imported 2006 1.0 Pathi Harn (10/03/2010) Bong Su x Porntip 1.0 Sabai (02/11/2016) Gung x Thong Dee 0.1 Porntip (00/00/1992); Imported 2006 0.1 Thong Dee (00/00/1997); Imported 2006 0.1 Anjalee (23/08/2006) Jayathu x Mayuri; Imported 2015 0.1 Kanlaya (14/06/2018) Putra Mas x Porntip Total regional population: 8.19 Asian elephant
