Baria cyclotis

Baria cyclotis
22-01-2011

Loxodonta cyclotis \'Baria\'
circa 1970

23-01-2011

Do you have more information regarding this elephant? Arrival at the zoo, age, death, etc? Thank you for any help.

23-01-2011

It is nice to know that historical zoo photography and data can assist in the species debate of splitting Loxodonta into 2 entirely different species, something which till all the genetic research had been suspected and by some outspoken, but never determined in full.

I am still looking forward to the resurgence of the Zoo di Napoli now ... The place really had a fine animal collection and the new investor does have some very interesting plans for the site.

23-01-2011

I rely in part on Cousin's paper on forest elephants in European zoos.
Baria arrived in 1952 (not 1950) from Gangala-na-Bodio (Congo RDC) and died 16 april 1970

Original data
two more forest elephants were imported in 1952 by Naples Zoo
Male Mokei (death date unknown but before 1961)
Female Namanga (killed by Baria 4 July 1961)

23-01-2011

I think the latest paper on elephant genetics pretty much confirms that cyclotis and africana are quite different species. They are as divergent as Elephas and Mammuthus.

24-01-2011

Even more traditional morphological works support the specific status of the two forms. However, I should stress that is the definition of 'species' that is changing in the last decades, with mammalogy that has been one of the most traditional scientific discipline in this context.
I should add that possibly more forms of cyclotis exists, as is the case of other African forest mammals.

24-01-2011

Wow, thank you for the detailed information. Do you know where I could acquire a copy of that paper?

24-01-2011

Two papers by Don Cousins appeared on International Zoo News. I haven't the full reference of the first on European zoos, but it may have been published in 1994. The second is

The African forest elephant and its status in captivity. Part II: North America. Int. Zoo News 42: 214-222 (1995)

You may check a zoo library for them

30-12-2011

I Think two of these are on a postcard I found on Delcampe!
See African Elephants Postcard

P.S. Can somebody provide me some information on, I think, their last African elephant.
I think this was Sandri, who came from Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands in 1988.