Do you guys think that Chendra could possibly be a Borneo Pygmy Elephant? Some things show she is indeed different is that Chendra is shorter than Rose-Tu even though she is a year older, she also has a short trunk and a rather long tail. Here are some pics: Oregon Zoo - Asian Elephant » ZooBeat Photo Gallery This is a pic of Chendra. Baby Elephant on Flickr - Photo Sharing! In this pic it shows Chendra's long tail and how she is shorter than Rose-Tu (the one in the middle). borneo-pygmy-elephants on Flickr - Photo Sharing! This shows three Borneo Pygmy Elephants. Notice how long the tails are on all three and they look like Chendra too. So what do you guys think?
Yup. It says in the website she was brought for breeding, but knowing she is a pygmy I wonder if the zoo will ever breed her.
The asian elephant SSP is managed at the species level with no consideration (as far as I know) for subspecies. I spoke to an elephant keeper in Portland who said that very thing in fact.
I feel that Chendra should be relocated to Sabah or the Kota Kinabalu Zoo to have her breed with her truthful ssp. brethren. The Kinabalu Zoo holds the only breeding group of Bornean pygmies and is somewhat of a conservation center for them. Instead Portland Zoo should try to source some of those orphaned elephants in mainland Malaysia or Thailand and incorporate them into their breeding programme. No subspecies issues there ...
I would think an AI program with the Kinabalu Zoo would also indeed work.... Considering all the bulls at portland weigh 6-10 tons more than her... Couldn't giving birth to a large calf also harm her? Because she is simply so much smaller!
11 -13 tonne bulls. . . they are huge. The largest recorded elephant was shot in Angola, weighing in at around 12 tonne. and stood 4.2 metres tall.
From the Oregon Zoo's website: "Packy is now the largest Asian elephant in the United States. He stands 10’6” at the shoulder and weighs approximately 13,500 pounds." Note that that is POUNDS not TONS.
Chendra IS being bred The zoo has been trying to get her to breed with Tusko the bull for a couple years now. Since it hasn't worked out, they're training her for artificial insemination. Here's a picture of Tusko. He's about 41 years old, 10', and 13,500 pounds. Photos: Tusko, Oregon Zoo Father of the Year | kgw.com Portland
Chendra is defiently a Bornean Pygmy Elephant in my opinon. Shame she is being interbreed with other Asian Elephant subspecies.
I was at the zoo in September and during the elephant talk, they mentioned that she's a Borneo Pygmy.
Okay? Multiple comments say "I believe" or "in my opinion". I didn't see one saying that the zoo confirmed it to be true.
