Duchess and gay story

So duchess is the lone african elephant at Paignton zoo since her companion gay the Asian elephant was put to sleep in 2010. I know she was born and came from longleat safari park in 1977 but apart from that i know no more, and gay, i dont have a clue where she was born or came from. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with imfo about duchess or gay and if its right to keep duchess at paignton alone?

 

Duchess and gay 2008

 

See the on-line Elephant Database for information about these animals.

Link below:-

All elephants ever located at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in United Kingdom

 

I think the best thing for Duchess is to spend the rest of her days in the surroundings with which she is familiar and not to complicate things by bringing in another animal.

 

I don't think many would disagree, given that she only has one eye, moving her wouldnt be sensible. The introduction of a companion would be difficult too.
I still think it's a shame they seem to be planning to go out of elephants when she dies though as the enclosure is by no means the worst & could hold 3 or 4 non breeding females in the future.

 

I agree i think duchess is happy there

 

Duchess did come from Longleat but would not have been born there, she would have been born in Africa.

 

I agree wholeheartedly, but then I am one of the dwindling band that thinks a major zoo without Elephants is not much of a zoo (I do know one zoo professional who agrees....and he is a good few years younger than me to boot).

 

Elephants in modern zoos

That sounds like a comment from the 1970's or 80's. Only zoos with major facilities and huge spaces should consider keeping elephants.

 

As the same age as myself Andrew, I understand what you are saying, as a youngster I would have been dismayed if I had visited a zoo that did not have at least one elephant, however as time passes I certainly agree with Edinburgh and Bristol's decision not to hold them any more in the facilities they had, and also London for sending theirs to Whipsnade. Paignton is a different matter, I hope Duchess lives for many years to come, and in a way I feel it is rather disrespectful to discuss what is going to happen to the house when she goes, but I agree with our polar bear friend from the Mappins on this, it is a good facility and could definitely be used to house elephants in the future,although I doubt if Paignton will do this.

 

I don't think a zoo should plan on keeping elephants long term if they don't have the space for more than three cows.

Having said that, a zoo without elephants always feels like something is missing.

Paignton looks like a pretty good setup . How secure is it? If it's strong it might be a good place to keep spare bulls. Emmen Zoo has seven male Asian calves that are going to need a new home in about a decade.

 

Make that the 1960's or 1970's! I'm not too keen on any time since the 1970's - it's been downhill all the way since then!! As a zoo visitor I do not like animals to be kept in vast spaces where I cannot see them properly as I shall always put exhibition (preferably leading to education) ahead of everything else. I was a big lover of Dudley's Elephant paddock (not the house though) which I thought was a real zoo exhibit - I suppose few people would agree these days as it was not large, but then the zoo had no Elephant paddock at all for its first 35 years. I expect the Elephants got adequate exercise by giving rides for much of that earlier time though.

In the 1970's I thought that a zoo without cetaceans was not much of a zoo either!!

 

Andrew, go onto Youtube, Whatever happened to the likely Lads, theme tune, one line I think you will like"The only thing to look forward to is the past"

 

I believe its Paignton's stated intention not to keep Elephants in the future. They aren't really an 'elephant-type' zoo in the modern sense and I can't see them wanting to commit themselves longerterm to the complicated and demanding processes of Elephant-keeping into the future. I think something simpler like a mixed 'Savanah' exhibit will likely replace the current two enclosures then, perhaps similar to Colchester's?

 

But if they do proceed with the Savannah plan then what will become of the house? It's designed so you're above giraffe and elephant, I don't imagine that an aerial view of a zebra/ostrich/antelope would have the same visual impact for most visitors!

 

Colchester Savanah area indoor animals are also viewed from above. IMO its a rotten design at both places. I can't see the thinking behind it, as for the Giraffe in particular(and Elephant too) you completely lose the visual impact of their immense height or size which you get from ground level.

I imagine at Paignton if they had Antelope, Zebra or whatever in the 2nd side, possibly with the area divided up into stalls, you'd just view as you do now, given a Savanah exhibit is largely effective only outdoors really and indoors is mainly just stabling for them.

 

I agree that it doesn't do the elephants or giraffes justice but I really think it'll look a lot worse with anything smaller. I do think that it is a flawed design in a very nice sized house. I think that if they were to keep it as it is then maybe widen the walkway and stick some smaller exhibits on the right hand side to distract visitors away from the sheer stupidity of staring down at whatever replaces the elephant!

 

Isn't Duchess in her early 40's now?

I'm sure I heard African Elephants can live up to about 70-80 years in
captivity.

But what is the average age for a captive Elephant to pass away at? Surely Duchess could potentionally have a few decades left in her?

 

The longevity of captive elephants is often exaggerated; there are very few authenticated records of African elephants in zoos living over fifty years.

Consequently, although it is not impossible for ‘Duchess’ to have a “few decades left”, being realistic this is highly improbable.

 

I don't really know much about Elephants and I thought they'd have a life span of 40-50years. It was only with a quick internet search I found the 70-80 years old claims.

The way people go on about there being no more Elephants at Paignton Zoo after Duchess does make it sound like they're expecting she'll pass within the next few years.

I to wonder what they plan to do with the Elephant half of the house when Duchess passes.