yeh, i have got to say the situation is pretty hopeless. even if perth's pair do succeed in breeding two animals is too small to base a genetically viable breeding program on...
in the future unrelated animals from their sub-species would need to be imported or assisted reproduction investigated. as for bong su and burma from auckland being paired up, it would seem like the logical thing to do although once again there is the same problem with the long term direction of any program. if offspring were produced, where would unrelated mates be sourced from?
i guess in either case the only thing the zoos have going in their favour (or against it) is the animals long life span and slow rate of reproduction. the time frame would give the program a little flexibility. what i would like to know is that had the import proposal been turned down categorically, what would of happened? would australia's zoos band together in a last ditch effort to breed these 4 animals or would each zoo hold on to their respective elephants and stand by as they all died out?
given the commercial, conservation and education value of this species i dont think the latter would of been an option...
going back a few years, before the massive, expensive redevelopment of taronga and melbournes exhibits, what would i have done if i was steering arazpa's think tank on the species?
well if the urban zoos were steadfastly determined to retain their elephant exhibits, and importation was definitely out then i would have suggested that taronga's exhibit be designed on the protected contact system and kept heman, burma and hopefully arna the circus elephant in sydney as a non-breeding herd.
my elephant exhibit would have covered almost the whole area the new rainforest precinct encompasses, so 2.5 hectares just for the elephantsJUST FOR THE ELEPHANTS . this is a hard one to swallow, as im an open range zoo advocate, and especially because burma and heman cant be taken outside and exercised...
the primate, bird, tapir, binturong, fishing cat, spotted deer exhibits that have been squeezed into the new asian exhibit i would have incorporated on the site of the old flamingo pools, which is instead now a restuarant, (and this on a site where flat ground is at a premium). i also would have developed the giant tortoise exhibit and remodelled the condor aviary into a primate exhibit. the picnic lawns opposite the heritage lised fig trees would have been able to hold another exhibit, as would the old sun bear exhibit. spotted deer and tapir could have been given access to the elephant exhibit through a design similar to aucklands springbok/giraffe/rhino exhibit.
this would have given the elephants so much more room, the stimualtion of a mixed species exhibit and even allowed for heman to be held seperately. does anyone remember what the old friendship farm looked like? the lower water buffallo paddock would of been perfect for him, and 'large enough'.
as for melbourne i have not been yet so maybe im not in the best position to comment. but perhaps mek kepah and bong su could have been kept in the city and the auckland animals consolidated with them. as all three females are accustomed to leaving their exhibits with their keepers they could still be exercised and the herd scenrio (4 animals) would, fingers crossed, stimulate breeding. alternatively the program could of been at weribee.
as for more than one bull, i have mixed feeling about this one. whipsnade and chester, who both have had success with this species, only have one bull, and portland zoo, in america ( i think), which if thats the right one is renowned for its success, thinks that there they have too many bulls and that they are supressing each others willingness to mate. they are having a baby drought. and then look at the black rhino on breeding sabbatical at taronga for the same reason.
perth i would leave alone, things there seem to be progressing well and besides their animals are of a different subspecies (besides trisha).
if at any time circus animals were offered to our zoos i think they should of jumped at the chance, to increase herd size and for social stimulation. so breeding activity would centre on melbourne and perth zoos. auckland zoo would lose out on a major drawcard, but just think what an amazing opportunity they would have? they could redevelop the elephant yard into, maybe a gorilla rainforest. a first for new zealand, a chance to participate in another regional breeding program and they would have a new, charismatic species to market and draw in crowds. and i dont know about quarantine laws, but just think? pygmy hippo, bongo? mandrills, guenon, okapi???
taronga, too, wouldnt lose out at least not in the short term. heman and burma might be a bit too old to breed, but with elephants living into their 70s in lots of zoos, they would of been around for at least another 20 years (the average functional 'lifespan' of a zoo exhibit, and who knows, by 2025 sydneysiders wouldnt 'need' an elephant in their zoo?) by then, maybe a bull calf or two surplus to perth or melbourne could be sent there?
anyway, all this is irrelevent now. the importation has got the go ahead, and although i have some misgivings, im generally happy about it. bring on the baby elephants...i hope

and whilst everyone is focusing on asian elephants, what about african elephants? western plains long term master plan calls for an extensive overhaul of their elephant exhibit. my uncle took a safari to africa last year where wardens at a national park had met with representatives from the zpb of nsw recently. are we going to be having the same debate about this species in the future?