Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium News 2018

Who the yayth are Tasha and co.?
(Talk the noon too so we know what the heck is going on)

 

Tasha is too old. Angeline and Zuri are too young. Nan and Victoria are the only likely ones. Our Pittsburgh expert may know more.

 

My bad, African Elephants!

 

No, only because there are only females residing at the zoo. Jackson is the only male the zoo has and he resides in Somerset Tasha is I believe too old to breed with him, and for obvious reasons he would not be allowed to breed with Victoria Angeline or Zuri.

 

What about Thabo Umasai, he is 12 and I believe he’s old enough to breed?

 

My apologies, I checked two elephant databases and confirmed that he is still around. I hardly see any of the ungulate keepers so I can’t ask them. I’d say he is too young to breed.

 

Actually that my previous statement may not be true. The database still says Moja is still residing at Pittsburgh zoo when I believe she is currently at the Oregon zoo, meaning some things are out of date.

 

Umasai died last year and Moja is at Wildlife Safari in Oregon. The zoo will not breed Bette, Nan and Tash. The Botswana girls are, if not already, getting to old and therefore a risk to breed. Victoria has been a prime candidate but after leaving AZA finding an AI canidate has not been easy. There will also be a major move between the ICC and the zoo soon, so there is more concentration on that than breeding

 

Thabo Umasai is dead! How did I not know? Who would be moving?

 

He was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease several years ago.

 

WHAT!!!! How is this possible? Not a single source I know states Thabo Umasai as deceased.

Thabo Umasai - Elephant.se
Thabo Umasai - Petra Prager
Thabo Umasai - EleWiki

I knew that Thabo Umasai had an autoimmune disease but I thought Thabo Umasai overcame the disease. The following questions are based on belief that Thabo Umasai is deceased:

Where did the information of Thabo Umasai's death come from?
Why was the death of Thabo Umasai never made public?
When (day, month, year) did Thabo Umasai die?
What was the cause of Thabo Umasai's death?

I find it very suspicious that the Pittsburgh Zoo never officially reported the relocation of Moja to Wildlife Safari and, if the information is true, the death of Thabo Umasai.

 

I don’t find it suspicious since zoos never report moves to the public. Umasi’s death was from serious joint pain and he was uthenized because he was having such a hard time . The zoo was getting slandered enough with the elephant calf so if they reported the death of another elephant people would go ballistic. I hope your questions have been answered.

 

Thank you natel12 for answering a majority of my questions but I still have a few more.

Where did you acquire the information on Thabo Umasai's death?
Was the serious joint pain brought on by the effects of the autoimmune disease?
Did Thabo Umasai die before or after the death of the elephant calf?
Do you know the precise date (day, month, year) of Thabo Umasai's death?

I can understand the Pittsburgh Zoo's reasoning for withholding information on the death of Thabo Umasai but how did this information go unknown for so long?

 

From both loxodonta and the zoo. He died before the calf. I don’t know about the connections from the disease and his joints. I only know he died sometime between June and August

 

Today I noticed the two cubs out on exhibit

 

Harbor the sea turtle will be released into the wild

 

PETA opposes Pittsburgh Zoo application to import elephant semen from Canada

 

Peta is a terrible organization and I have no respect for them

 

Ditto.

 

Agreed.