Radar, above is Alport in 2007 shortly before she died. The "disease" being listed as: ligament injury. Is an injury a disease? All pictures I have seen of Alport she always seems to be standing "straddled" with her weight rocked back on her back legs and off of her front legs. Delhi also stood this way, towards the end in an effort to keep weight off of her front end. Alport's spine has always been a mystery to me, as has Sabu's, whom we have discussed. She was wild caught and came from Algeria via Baumberge. Who is "Baumberge?"
Lucky above. Radar the data base lists 3 Asian present at San Antonio. They have two, Lucky and Boo. They also list two elephants as coming from the Steele/Tata Ranch in 1962. I don't think it was called the Steele/Tata Ranch in 1962, and would have probably been the Steele/Engesser Ranch in 1962, if anything.
Radar commented the other day on a photo posted showing the moat around the elephant exhibit and asked what the platforms were for in the moat, and I replied that they were for the keepers to stand on to elevate themselves out of the deep moat. I think the elephant pictured here is "Boo" Queenie the new elephant acquired via confiscation. I also suggest "Boo" did this exact same behavior via bull hook that they are now demonstrating via target before moving to San Antonio. One of the most important elements to a successful protected contact program is the illusion of actually accomplishing something not only useful, but "totally amazing" as well. Given the knowledge of the folks you are demonstrating your skills to, it is a very easy bluff to pull off, as a rule assuring job security.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
For Radar
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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Wade,
The database lists thirteen categories for cause of death, following an entry box for further description regarding the reason for death. These options are Accident, Age, Anesthesia, Disease, Euthanized, Hunted, Killed, Maternal Death, Miscarriage, Poached, Shot in Culling Operation, Stillborn and Unknown. Sometimes it can be difficult to place a cause of death under one of these fields. It can also skew statistics. Many elephants dying in captivity today are euthanized. Thus, it is difficult to find how many elephants have died of old age if they are listed under euthanasia.
The 'Baumberge' location is not listed with a description in the North American Regional Studbook for the Afrian Elephant. The only information I can find regarding this name is a mountain range in Germany, located near Munster. Perhaps there was an importer, such as Ruhe or Hagenbeck, from this area?
My apologies for the incorrectly third elephant listed at San Antonio. Dan and I have been discussing different ways to list elephants in the studbook "Lost to Follow-up." Her status as 'lost' insinuated she was still at the zoo because she was not marked dead. This is another feature of Elephant.se currently under adjustment to improve the site. For the time being, I changed her status to dead.
The Studbook also lists Bucky's location as 'Steele/Tata Ranch,' regardless of the time frame. This is another correction that needs to be made. I will work on this in the upcoming weeks.
When were the bars set into the exhibit preventing access to the moat? I assume it was around the time they transitioned to protected contact after the death of a keeper in late 1992. If so, I am surprised in 20 year period they did not make any changes to the moat other than the platform, such as filling it in or 'decorating' it for a less-harsh viewing experience for the visitor. I doubt any changes will be made now with the zoo's plans to create a new 'Africa' exhibit. When this occurs, the zoo plans to relocate their Asian elephants and acquire Africans.
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