European elephants #2

Elephants are truely intelligent creatures, the points you bring up are very true, though they are much like humans, their motives and life experinces might have not just been triggered by life experince but perhpas due to that particular elephant, Musth is an issue as well, though most people know what to do and the dangers of it,

 

What a horrible video! I have sent a protest note to the zoo via its web site. I suggest you do the same.

 

I would say the keepers reaction was very reactionary, taken by surprise, but there must be a gentler way to reprimand the elephant, btw where was the mother elephant?

 

I agree but you can do some silly things when taken by surprise!

 

Training of calves in Berlin is usually done without the mother, I guess because the mother could become protective of her calf and dangerous for the keeper. Seperating from the mother makes this sort of training even more stressing for the calf.

 

Just wondering how throughly are the calves trained as in do they just learn basic commands or is there an elephant show in Berlin?

 

Not really a circus-like performance. Watch the video here: Tierpark Berlin / ERLEBEN / Erlebnis Tierpark / Reingeschaut im... / Elefanten-Kindergarten

But I still hate to see these stupid things. Let the animals live their own life!

 

I agree we are always complaining about how people are saying no to infrigements of our freedom, elephants deserve better!

 

My final words on the beating of the elephant calf:

I am not an expert on the handling of big animals, but I am stilled appalled by the reaction of this German animal "zookeeper". HE KEPT ON HITTING THE LITTLE ELEPHANT CALF WITH AN INSTRUMENT MADE OF STEEL (the "bullhook") when the litle elephant was running away from him, scared as hell!

God damn it!

However, 30 years ago, having just finished my education but not yet found a job suited for my degree, I worked at a slaughter house in Sweden. There I led horses (as well as big bulls weighing up to a 1000 kilos) to their death. Sometimes they put me in literally life threatening situations, but I would never have dreamed of treating them the way that this German "zookeeper" treated this poor little elephant kid.

 

Vegetarian side talking (lol), but personally I think having them killed was more cruel. (Don't want to start another debate with this by the way).
My final words: I don't think the keeper was right in reacting the way he did, but as Kiang said I'm sure that his reaction was purely down to self defence and surprise, and he must love the elephants he works with to put himself through the job of working with them, which I imagine is very challenging.
They would need to show their dominance over the elephant but that was too much, especially hitting him as much as the keeper did, even as he ran off.

 

Would anyone know the future of the keeper?

 

A few days ago, Calvin moved from Hannover to Leipzig. Since today he is with the cows.

 

Thats one well travelled elephant, last time I saw him he was in Canada

 

That's interesting , I knew it was coming but are they planning to do anything with Mekong?

 

they have 3 bull-enclosures in leipzig, so I don't think it should be a problem

 

I see, hopefully with the arrival of Calvin Voi nam can be a big brother or cousin of some sort,

 

Are they all adult bulls?

 

At the moment there is Calvin 22 years old and Mekong, 26, the young bull Voi nam is 5

 

Wow, thats good that there is place like this that house bulls. Sorry to ask such a silly question, but do they also house a herd of females, if so what are there numbers?

 

No problem, there are zoos that house bachelors only so there is a valid reason for people to think that there are zoos only for bulls, in fact hat is the plna in the future because of the recent amount of male births so not all will be used in the breeding circuit,

From Hamburg there is Saida-1973, to stay long-term and her daughter salvana- 1996 to stay as soon as she falls pregnant, and then she'll be sent back to Hamburg,
And from Vietnam,
Don Chung-1982, Trinh-1982 (Voi nam's mother) and Hoa-1982, and plus the recently passed Rhani,