Pygmy or not? » Oregon Zoo

Pygmy or not?
21-09-2008

Do you guys think that Chendra could possibly be a Borneo Pygmy Elephant? Some things show she is indeed different is that Chendra is shorter than Rose-Tu even though she is a year older, she also has a short trunk and a rather long tail.

Here are some pics:
Oregon Zoo - Asian Elephant » ZooBeat Photo Gallery
This is a pic of Chendra.

Baby Elephant on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
In this pic it shows Chendra's long tail and how she is shorter than Rose-Tu (the one in the middle).

borneo-pygmy-elephants on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
This shows three Borneo Pygmy Elephants. Notice how long the tails are on all three and they look like Chendra too.

So what do you guys think?

21-09-2008

I didn't think there was any doubt on this? She's from Sabah isn't she?

21-09-2008

Yup. It says in the website she was brought for breeding, but knowing she is a pygmy I wonder if the zoo will ever breed her.

21-09-2008

The asian elephant SSP is managed at the species level with no consideration (as far as I know) for subspecies. I spoke to an elephant keeper in Portland who said that very thing in fact.

21-09-2008

I feel that Chendra should be relocated to Sabah or the Kota Kinabalu Zoo to have her breed with her truthful ssp. brethren. The Kinabalu Zoo holds the only breeding group of Bornean pygmies and is somewhat of a conservation center for them.

Instead Portland Zoo should try to source some of those orphaned elephants in mainland Malaysia or Thailand and incorporate them into their breeding programme. No subspecies issues there ...