Elephants and other pachyderms in mixed enclosures.

I saw the thread about pygmy hippos in mixed enclosures and was curious if other larger pachyderms have been exhibited in mixed enclosures, particularly elephants (of either species). I could see bulls being problematic, especially during musth, but what about cows? Have common hippos, black rhinos, or Indian rhinos done well in mixed enclosures? The only pachyderm I've seen in a mixed enclosure is white rhinos in Disney ' s Animal Kingdom.

 

White Rhinos are often kept with other animals here in Australia. Werribee zoo has them with zebra, eland and giraffe. Other antelope have also been kept with them in the past.

 

Many years ago at Knaresborough Zoo in the UK I saw an Asiatic Elephant being kept with an Arabian Camel, I think there were other animals in the exhibit too - domestic ponies etc. In one of Clinton Keeling's books he writes about Knaresborough and comments on the relationship between its elephant and a Shetland Pony. Knaresborough was very much a zoo of its time though.

 

Birmingham's long term plan is to rotate the following animals on the same exhibit space.

4.0 Bull African Elephants
1.2 White Rhino
1.0 Nile Hippopotamus
2.3 Reticulated Giraffe
0.1 Grant's Gazelle
1.2 Ostrich
1.5 Grant's Zebra
1.2 Crowned Cranes
Various Guineafowl

Future African Hoofstock - Impala and either Waterbuck or Scimitar Oryx. All of the rotation infrastructure is in place. They have in the past put the Rhino out there with the Elephants already. Same design firm as Giants at Dallas but because of dealing with exclusively Bulls the Mixed Species concept will take time to get fully tweaked.

 

This sounds like a neat mix, and in a place like Alabama they can be outside most of the time. Why only one hippo and only one gazelle?

 

The facility can only hold one hippo and Tadpole is an overrepresented older male anyway.

The Grant's Gazelle is elderly. I have been told by some on here they are relatively rare in US Zoos. When she passes I imagine she will be replaced by Thomson's, Slender-horned, or another easier to obtain species.

Also since I typed that I found out that the planned large antelope species or species are on hold at present. The AZA will require a new hoofstock barn to have the space to house Oryx, Waterbuck etc. A new hoofstock barn is not in the plans instead focus is on the renovating the Predator building with an indoor/outdoor Asian Forest complex. After that the Primate area will become an African Forest to hold smaller African primates, red river hog, and the plan has Bongo/Duikers as well. The african forest is supposed to be hoofstock heavy.

 

It sounds like my kind of zoo with plenty of hoofstock.

 

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