hi everyone
i know that lately there has been qute a bit of talk about what to do with the elephants we have in australia if the zoos didnt get their import proposal ok'd. some of you suggested amalgamating the scattered individuals and small groups into a super-herd, where the larger social grouping would hopefully inspire natural breeding behaviour.
in 2001 london zoo sent its 3 female elephants up the M1 to whipsnade to join their existing herd of a bull and two cows. now, we all know that two calves were born last year. but what i found was most interesting is that apparently the two girl groups are mainy seperated and only occassionally introduced. i know burma and renae at taronga used to gang up on heman at times...does anyone else find ths funny. i guess its interesting, that even though they are herding animals,their instinct is to stay within their well-established groups. maybe its not just the size of the herd, but the presence of other herds in the vicinity, that stimulate breeding. then on the other hand, look at perth, who are waiting to confirm if recent mating activity in their tiny herd resulted in a pregnancy.
elephant breeding...there are so many questions and few straight answers.