All three African elephants have been relocated to the Elephant Sanctuary (a change of plans in Sukari's case). Nashville Zoo?s elephants relocated to sanctuary | WKRN News 2
Tes acts as a political organization to do everything it can to make it impossible for Zoos to keep Elephants, also they do not take as good care of their animals as they claim they do. I wish that they hadn't been rewarded with three new animals.
Maybe they are picking their battles, or maybe the didn't and there was some other reason she got sent there. Frankly I wish Sukari hadn't been sent there.
Because I thought that joining a breeding herd might have been a more rewarding life for her, also I'm not as sold on the place as other people are.
Keep in mind that the zoo does not own Hadari and the decision about her move was made by others, people who had worked with the group for years. Moving Rosie the short distance to join Hadari may have been a decision to be safe with an older animal's move and compassionate for this pair who would no doubt do better together than apart. With the AZA facility in Florida (NEC) out of the picture after Juno's death, moving Sukari with the rest may have also been the wisest decision. Had there been any issues both the AZA and the zoo would face even more serious criticism.
TES isn't the out-right anti-zoo establishment they once were. They have certainly mellowed out in recent years after several incidents and management issues.
I am very happy and exited that Sukari, Hadari and Rosie are all together at the elephant sanctuary. TES isn`t a political organization. It was founded to provide an alternative for elephants in need of a good home, and its focus is first and foremost the welfare of individual elephants. Founder and former CEO Carol Buckley was very outspoken about any for of captivity and there are a lot of things where I disagree with her, but she left years ago. The current director of elephant management is Margaret Whittaker, who started her carrer at the Houston Zoo and has worked as an independent consultant regarding elephant care and training for many zoos. I agree that being around elephant calves is a great experience for a female elephant, but it is totally unrealistic that the Nashville females could have joind a breeding group. There are way too few breeding groups! And those few zoos that have breeding groups need their space for breeding females and their offspring. In addition, related females form such close bonds that integrating an unrelated female ususally doesn`t work. (That it works for Chai and Bamboo from Oklahoma is a huge exeption, not the norm - and we`ll see if Chandra and Asha will accept them longterm. The experience in european zoos shows that female elephants strongly prefer the company of their offspring and more often then not become incompartible with unrelated females as soon as a female has serveral calves of different ages). The reality is that most AZA Zoos don`t have a lot to offer for non-breeding females (that are usually non-breeding because an AZA zoo failed to offer her the opportunity to breed, LOL). Zoos with good, modern facilities want to breed and therefore have neither space nor interest in non-breeding females, and zoos that want non-breeding females have old and outdated facilities that should be closed. A few zoos like Dallas are the exeption, but now Dallas wants a breeding group too. I totally agree with Nashville that TES was the best option - mild climate, other elephants to socialize with, lots of space, professional management (Margaret Whittaker!) and the guarantee that Hadari, Sukari and Rosie can stay there for life and will never have to move to make space for breeding females.
Wow! I practically grew up with this zoo, and am loving to hear how much it has changed since I moved! The last thing that was built before I left was the Flamingo Habitat (I still have a feather that I grabbed from the water when it floated near!) and it is amazing to think about how much it changed. It truly is on the right path to becoming one of the best zoos in the country.
Seeing white rhinos in the outstanding elephant habitat would be great. Also the new tiger exhibit looks promising (although the old one was not bad either).
Any idea from which zoo / conservation breeding facility in Florida the white rhinos travelled (and/or which ones)?
Two male Palawan Binturong cubs were born in early November. One brother was sent to Columbus Zoo & Aquarium and the other remains at the Zoo. The male cub remaining at the Zoo will be an Education Animal Ambassador.
Three babies: the two previously mentioned binturong cubs, and a banded palm civet. Nashville Zoo welcomes 3 baby animals On a side note, how common are banded palm civets in the US? Are they a species likely to increase in presence in the US, as I don't think I've heard a zoo in the country having them in a long time.
Excellent news all around. Nashville has several breeding pairs off-exhibit and, unless Cincinnati's single animal is still alive, they are the only Banded Civets in the country. Personally, I'd love to see them expand out to more collections. ~Thylo
Cincinnati's is, indeed, still alive and kicking. I, too, would enjoy seeing the species spread out to additional collections. They're an attractive and entertaining species; I've always enjoyed them while exhibited here in Cincinnati and, previously, in Columbus.
Civets in general should branch out a little more. The only one I've gotten a good look at is Cincinatti's.
The reason Nashville has them is because their director has a good working relationship with the founder of the recently closed RSCC in England. They also work closely on clouded leopards. (Even though I was told this in a private conversation I don't think it is privileged information and I feel comfortable posting it).