Chester Zoo Chester Zoo Discussion and Questions 2020

This thread is for any Chester chat that isn't really news. As the title suggests this is a good place for discussion and questions (and speculation).

 

Sundara is pregnant and she is expected to give birth around the end of January

 

That's great news hopefully Sundara's impending elephant calf doesn't succumb to EEHV in a couple of years. Even if Indalis younger sibling does contract EEHV hopefully it can be cured gain the antibodies to never contract EEHV again and live to tell the tale like Indali has.

 

Not long to wait!!

 

It would be great if it were a female so that the herd of elephants in Chester could grow. Three deaths in 2018 devastated him. Unfortunately, one of the two breeding cows and two calves died here. Sundara is now the only one who can have a calf. And she is pregnant!

 

I still wish a way could be found to manage Thi's arthritis during pregnancy so that she might have another calf. Keeper James said she is never as happy and pain-free as she is with a calf. With procedures like IRAP, plasma injections, and acupuncture that should have no effect on a pregnancy, it would seem to be worth a try, especially if the hormonal surge of having the calf gives her palpable extended relief.

 

Elephantelephant don't worry about the lack of breeding cow elephants as in a couple of years if her grandma Sithami is anything to go on Indali will become reproductive. Following this the only event that will have to occur is the departure of Indali's dad Aung-Bo to be replaced with an unrelated Asian bull elephant. In addition to this Chester could always source some additional cow elephants to expand the heard as well as introduce new blood lines to the Hi-Way family at Chester Zoo.

While on the subject of Asian Elephants how can you tell female Asian Elephants apart from each other, for instance in my opinion all elephant calves are identical and so were Sundara and her late mother Sithtami. In fact the older Sundara gets the more like Sithami she becomes.

 

Yes, it's worth it. Another calf would be a huge asset. But the question is whether this opinion is a zoo. We can only hope, but the zoo chooses itself.

 

I think that the cure of EEHV with Indali is a breakthrough and the high mortality of calves will be at least partially stopped. It is better to let the small family herd grow naturally than to import other cows. It could upset the herd's harmony.

 

I agree with the Zoos decision to not breed from Thai Hi-Way again. At the end of the day the Elephant keepers at Chester Zoo know Thai much better than any of us do as onlookers. If the Chester team feel like pregnancy is becoming increasingly dangerous and less humane for Thai,as she ages I trust their judgement firstly because their experienced and qualified elephant keepers and secondary because they are with Thai and her heard mates day in day out. The elephant team have also known Thai for many years and have seen her pregnant unpregnant and also how her bodies changing as she ages,

 

you do know how blood lines work?

 

I think so but I'm not initially sure

 

I think what @taun means is that to introduce new (unrelated) cows would introduce new bloodlines to the herd; but not Thi Hi Way’s family as they are their own bloodline. The only way to add elephants to their bloodline would be to breed from Sundara (and Indali in time) or import elephants that are related to them.

 

Zoofan15 do you think Chester Zoo will import some more elephant cows?

 

No. Like @Elephantelephant says, it could affect the cohesion of the herd. Thi is established as the matriarch and actually came to Chester following difficulty socialising with the cows at London Zoo.

Until more is understood about the transmission of EEHV, there may also (rightly or wrongly) be a reluctance from other zoos to send their young females there for breeding. While it’s common knowledge within the zoo community that there is no such thing as a ‘contaminated facility,’ the fact remains that Chester Zoo’s herd has been especially afflicted by EEHV and statistically speaking, have one of the highest calf mortality rates in the region.

 

I doubt it as elephant herds are generally made up of related females, just unfortunately Chester's herd have dwindled. The future now relies on Sundara and Indali so fingers crossed future calves are female but we'll wait and see

 

Are there European zoos willing to donate cows to Chester? Are there enough?

Lol. Animals differ just as much as humans. First there are differences of size determined by age. Then, look at height, straight or curved topline, and how they carry their weight. There are many gradations of color too, from light gray to dark steel gray in Sri Lankan especially, to ranges of brown. Gaits are also different, especially with Thi's arthritis, and she in particular has a 5" raised disc of skin on the lateral right front knee. The biggest differences, though, are in the faces. Some are thinner looking, some have more sunken eyes, some ears have creases either forward or back, there are different patches of pink on ears and trunks of each elephant, and some cows like Sundara have visible tushes where tusks would be in males.

 

Zoofan15 The one good thing is that now Indali Hi-Way has contracted Chester's strain of EEHV1 and survived she's immune to this particular strain of the tragic virus.I hope that this historical breakthrough with Indali surviving EEHV1 this is the start of Chester stomping out at least this specific type of the virus. If this is the case hopefully other European zoo's catch wind of this historical scientific breakthrough, and start to feel more comfortable about sending their elephant cows to Chester.I hope this happens as far the long term sustainably of the Chester Zoo elephant heard there needs to be more than one of two breeding cow elephants.

 

I think that the high mortality of calves on EEHV is not the Zoo Chester, but rather the genes of the Thi Ha Way family. They are probably very susceptible to this virus.

 

Having just read the posts of this thread so far, it's no wonder Chester stopped doing the walk and talks and I am not sure if they started them again, I would want anything to do with sorting them out. I will stick to sorting them out for other groups and societies.