I think having respect is different to having a place in social hierarchy. Elephants care primarily for their own calf first, but all elephants will come to the aid of a calf in danger. As the young bulls mature it will eventually come down to size. Social structure and respect would mean very little to luk chai when he's in musth. Male calves will not stay with the herd and I think at their current age they are equals in the hierarchy.
Makes sense I guess, he was only six when they brought him over. I will be very interested to see the size of Pak Boon's calf (especially if it is a male) in relation to the other two. It would make sense for the size to relate to the mother. Thong Dee is small for her age and Pathi Harn has so far been bigger than Luk Chai at every stage of his development. The younger calf is fast catching up and will probably overtake Luk Chai in size before he turns three. Pak Boon is large for her age and will probably produce a larger calf if she has a boy than the other two. If her calf is female then it will probably be lighter. The size of the father would also have an effect but since Luk Chai and Pak Boon's calf were both fathered by Gung, the mother will ultimately determine the calf's size in their case.
I can't understand why Gung was named after a prawn or a rock lobster either. If I had any influence over naming Gung, I would have call him Tobias. Don't you think he looks like a Tobias (Toby)? It's a name sort of in keeping with the way the door opened for he and the girls to win their "green cards" to immigrate to Taronga and Melbourne Zoo.
I guess he does He has been a pioneer for his species in the sense he began the breeding programme with Luk Chai's birth. He was also very young at the time and will mature into a large bull over the next 10-15 years, hopefully fathering many more calves. Tang Mo is currently the second smallest female (Thong Dee is the smallest). This is mostly due to her age, at 11 years old she is the youngest female elephant at Taronga Zoo but she is growing fast. Tang Mo is tall for her age and very slender. She is almost as tall as Porntip and Pak Boon (both aged 18 years old) and will almost certaintly reach their height in the next few years. It was only a couple of years ago Taronga Zoo relasied Tang Mo was their youngest female. For a while they thought Thong Dee was at least a year younger than Tang Mo becasue of her small size. A specialist has since estimated her to be 13 years old (born in 1997), the estimate took her reproductive status and maturation of tushes into consideration among other factors.
Taronga try to give their animals the traditional names of their respective countries, so calling a Thai elephant Toby wouldn't really suit the 'theme'. I like the way Taronga respects where their animals come from by naming their animals traditional names, but this is nothing bad about zoos who dont call their animals traditional names, I just personally like it. Also, dont you agree Tang Mo (watermelon) and Gung (prawn) sound a bit better than Jessica and Toby?
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for my comments on Gung’s name to be in any way a criticism of the Taronga Zoo's naming policy of their animals. It was purely a personal preference that I could see Gung with another/extra name. I have much respect for Taronga Zoo and their international diplomacy and friendship with the Thai people.
I think Tang Mo has a great name, it really suits her. Luk Chai and Pathi Harn are also very good names, the meaning behind Pathi Harn's name is very good. I wonder what name they will come up with for Pak Boon's calf. If it is a female they may choose something that reflects her being a girl.
I agree, they're all good suggestions, also names in Thai like: Pretty Girl Beautiful Mother Flower Summer Water
Also, I wonder what Pak Boon's how protective Pak Boon will be of the calf. Thong Dee has always been much more reliant on the herd as babysitters than Porntip who has always been the main caregiver of Pathi Harn. This may be due to their age however as Thong Dee was relatively young and inexperienced when Luk Chai was born as opposed to Porntip and Pak Boon who are older and both have had expereince with caring for Luk Chai.
I think Pak Boon will be open with the calf and let everyone in the herd near here, as Thong Dee did with Luk Chai.
I could be completely wrong here but I think I remember Taronga Zoo saying before Luk Chai was born that female calves would include the mother's prefix in their name (eg. Thong, Pak etc.), is anyone able to confirm this? If this is how they plan to do things then a possible suggestion might be Pak Bua? Continue to let me know your suggestions on names, Petal is a good one.
Here are some translations: KANYA Girl KULAP Rose LAWAN Beautiful MALAI Garland of Flowers PAKPAO Kite RATREE Jasmine Flower SUCHART Born into a Good Life SUKHON Pleasant Smell Kulap and Malai may be too similar to Kulab and Mali at the Melbourne Zoo but I especially like Pak Pao, it has a playful meaning behind it and goes very well with Pak Boon.
Awesome! We should put forward our suggestions to Taronga Zoo, they might include it when they draw up a naming list in November The name's meaning of kite could also represent the way the zoo is 'flying' in terms of breeding at the moment when you consider up to 2009, no elephant had ever given birth in Australia and now Taronga Zoo will soon have three calves in just over a year. They're doing great. I also believe Taronga Zoo has a very special herd in the fact it is a young herd, yet they have been so successful to date, with none of the deathes that seem to affect other zoos. The females are all very good mothers, many elephants reject their first born calf if they are unsure about it but there hasn't been any issues so far. Hopefully things will progress well for Pak Boon and her calf in November.
