Asiatic elephant cow Raisa

How is the elephant exhibit in Sorocaba like? Never had the oportunity to actually know more about the zoo's structures to keep this couple.

By the way, being Sandro the only male asian elephant living in the country nowadays, do you think there are possibilities of reproduction in there?

@David Matos Mendes Sandro and Raisa have quite a large enclosure with a pool and earth floor and also have a large house / shelter.

I'm a bit biased in terms of elephants because I just dont think they are a species that does very well in captivity and I don't really like to see them in zoos but these were former circus animals so I think they have a much better life at the zoo than they did in the circus.

In time once these two elephants have passed away I would really like to see this large enclosure repurposed for a native species like the lowland tapir or the jaguar or the muriqui or a South American mammal like the spectacled bear.

I have no idea about the status of Asian elephants in Brazil but if Sandro is the only male of his species in the country then that is interesting. Regarding reproduction I dont think it would be likely to happen as this pair have been there since the early 80's (possibly longer, can't remember) and there has been no breeding.

@Onychorhynchus coronatus Ah, yes, so they are quite elderly... I hope they have the best life possible untill their last days.

I agree with you about the dificulties of keeping elephants. For me they are the hardest animals nowadays to build exhibits for. Their huge size requires many efforts that I think many zoos worldwide still need to improve.

Now that you mentioned, when these two individuals follow the circle of life, I just imagine this exhibit with many branches, trees, logs and the sorocaban muriqui family living into it. It would be pretty amazing, and would probably help even more in the breeding and welfare of the species.

Yes, I agree with you about elephants and also think this applies to a great many other Asian and African megafauna in zoos too.

Regarding what will happen to this enclosure after Sandro and Raisa have passed away I have always thought it could be either kept how it is but slightly more planted and used for lowland tapir (there are a lot of these at the zoo) or that with a lot of remodelling it would make either an excellent pit style enclosure (like those at BH zoo) for jaguars or spectacled bears.

I also think along similar lines to what you have mentioned in terms of it being used as an outdoor enclosure for Sorocaba's Southern muriquis. Perhaps it could be done similarly to the one at Sao Paulo zoo but more expansive ?

@Onychorhynchus coronatus Yeah, these are all great ideas for a new use for this exhibit, considering when the elephants reach their lifetime, and the idea of using it for the jaguar would bring somethink quite nice and new to the zoo too. I can imagine many enrichment items and structures that could be added that could turn it actually a modern and pretty big enclosure to exhibit jaguars.

I've read a bit and watched some videos about the tapirs in Sorocaba and the handling of them at the institution, and I had the impression that it's one of the zoos that best breed the species in the country.
As you said, they could be living in the elephant exhibit in the future, and I would add that it would be pretty nice if the institution made a mixed brazilian species habitat just like the cerrado exhibit in BH (check it out below), mixing the tapirs with other native species. I think it would be amazing.

The big cerrado biome exhibit - Belo Horizonte zoo by David Matos Mendes posted 11 Oct 2020 at 7:48 PM

The big cerrado biome exhibit - Belo Horizonte zoo by David Matos Mendes posted 11 Oct 2020 at 7:42 PM

@David Matos Mendes Those are some great shots and brilliant ideas David and I totally agree that the enclosure would be suitable for either tapir or jaguar.

Regarding the breeding success of the lowland tapir at Sorocaba, yes, it has been prolific (as has been the arrival of rescued individuals of this species that cannot be rehabilitated) and so much so that there are actually kind of too many in some of the enclosures. This is why they I feel that they would really benefit from a larger enclosure.

A mixed species exhibit sounds interesting and particularly one that would have both the lowland tapir and the marsh deer (also kept at the zoo).

@Onychorhynchus coronatus Yes, for the size I'm imagining the exhibit has, it could hold pretty well the tapirs, marsh deers and even more species such as the giant anteaters, brocket deer, or even rheas. They all stay together in BH (except the marsh deers) and never had big problems. I really like to think in such native species mix, it provides excelent environmental education, besides being a nice social enrichment for the animals.

For what you've wrote in this and some other topics, I realize Sorocaba is also in need of space due to the overpopulation of rescued animals, so it would be a great oportunity, if all these species actually leave their encloures to live in the new one, other animals can be housed in them, and I think this would be nice for the zoo's handling.

@David Matos Mendes It could work, yes, but their current male marsh deer is really quite an aggressive individual to both humans and other animals so I'm not sure he would be suitable for a mixed species exhibit.

I think it is a really nice idea too and I think this sort of concept could be applied more widely in Brazilian zoos to showcase native biodiversity and have naturalistic exhibit styles.

Yes, that is a perennial problem in Sorocaba zoo and perhaps all zoos in Brazil. Due to habitat destruction and anthropogenic threats (fires, dog attacks, road accidents, electrocution on electricity wires, deliberate shootings etc) there is a constant stream of rescued animals coming into the zoo and all of these require enclosures and veterinary care and it is very difficult to accomodate all of these.

@Onychorhynchus coronatus Ah yes, I see... Then it would be more complex to add the deers too. I also think modern concepts such as mixed exhibits, mainly containing native fauna should be definitely more common in the country.

It's really very dificult to acomodate all these received animals... BH received 300 parrots some time ago, Brasilia is constantly receiving animals from the reserves around the zoo, Ribeirão Preto also has been very busy with rescues, for what I know, and probably all the zoos that have the minimum structure are receiving animals and getting their "seror extra" overcrowded too, and also, it's all increased by the fires in pantanal...