Since the beginning of human settlements have been altercations between people and elephants and it's led to a lot of deaths on both teams. Elephants are destructive animals: it's what they evolved to do. You don't get a 4-5 ton animal without a little muscle. African elephants tear down trees and destroy vegetation, which can be good for the environment as it fosters new growth and allows much smaller animals the chance to eat the leaves of felled trees, but it's not so good for human farms. And eight years ago in Swaziland there was an elephant population problem.There were so many on preserves that they were overcrowding and could damage the populations of other animals.
So the decision was made to have some of them killed.
It's called culling, and it's a practice used in wild animal management. In the US we have deer season which allows hunters the opportunity to shoot a buck for sport or food during times when there are too many deer for one area. It's against the rules to shoot a doe or fawn, ensuring there will be genes to go around for next season. But a cull in Africa can mean an entire family, a whole herd, is taken out. The decision isn't made lightly, and it's not done for sport. But it's still a little hard to believe killing an entire family or more of an endangered species is the best way to manage a population (although, if you think transporting the family to another preserve or another area where elephants aren't in high numbers, I'm sure park rangers would love to hear your plan for corralling 10-20 9,000 pound creatures that doesn't cost a fortune).
Enter the San Diego Zoo. In 2003 11 elephants were "rescued" from a planned cull in Swaziland and shipped to the United States. A few of the elephants went to Florida and the rest came to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where they proceeded to reproduce. Very quickly. One elephant arrived pregnant, and the one male went ahead and did his job with the rest of them. If memory serves, 8 babies were born in 8 years and one of the males that went to Florida was brought to San Diego, bringing the total elephant population at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to 17.
Yesterday, though, the total dropped to 16. One of the elephants, a semi-dominant female named Umoya, died after an apparent conflict with another elephant. This isn't entirely unusual because elephants are known to throw their massive weight around, and because their society is matriarchal (females are dominant) the many ladies need to work out a hierarchy. The reason this does seem unusual, however, is these elephants have lived together for 8 years and would be seen working together for a unified cause, like protecting a newborn. Umoya was #2 in the elephant herd, but #1 within her own little circle.
Unfortunately, no keepers were around to witness any fighting (the wounds were likely inflicted in the early morning hours before keepers arrive) so until the necropsy results we'll probably not know the cause or reasons. And even if it is proved that she died from wounds related to a fight we'll never know what caused it or probably who the other elephant in the fight was. Both male and female African elephants have tusks because males don't stick around in herds once they hit their teens, but Umoya was in an area with the herd's male. It's not unheard of for captive elephants to cause fatal damage to each other, either, but of all the zoos in this country the Safari Park gives their herd a pretty decent life.
Keepers said Umoya's wounds didn't immediately appear to be life threatening (not very deep, little blood), making her death even more shocking. Some of the keepers have been with Umoya since she arrived from Africa, and these elephants feel very much like family. People everywhere are heartbroken at the loss of pets, and these keepers have worked very intimately with the elephants for 8 years and are devastated at the loss of one of their herd.
Umoya left behind two calves, one of which is less than 2 years old (he'll be properly cared for by keepers and the rest of the herd). As a wild born elephant, her genes are valuable to the captive "world herd" of elephants, and the scientific and conservation communities will miss her, too. It's of course never ideal to keep elephants captive, even in the best of situations, but that's a whole different topic. The Safari Park, the Zoo, the keepers, the rest of the herd, her calves, and the San Diego public (yours truly included) will miss Umoya.
Lindsay writes her animal loving blog Miniature Mastadon and, right up until her senior year of high school, was going to work with animals. After changing courses and getting a degree in writing, she ended up working in a zoo for a little more than a year. Being face to face with rhinos, giraffes, ostriches, gaur and even super close to an elephant herd (faves) dawned the realization that she can't quite ignore the need to be involved in some way. The Miniature Mastadon is an outlet to write about animal news, triumphs, discoveries, and even some sadness. All discussion, thoughts, questions and stories are most fully welcome so come chime in!
So the decision was made to have some of them killed.
It's called culling, and it's a practice used in wild animal management. In the US we have deer season which allows hunters the opportunity to shoot a buck for sport or food during times when there are too many deer for one area. It's against the rules to shoot a doe or fawn, ensuring there will be genes to go around for next season. But a cull in Africa can mean an entire family, a whole herd, is taken out. The decision isn't made lightly, and it's not done for sport. But it's still a little hard to believe killing an entire family or more of an endangered species is the best way to manage a population (although, if you think transporting the family to another preserve or another area where elephants aren't in high numbers, I'm sure park rangers would love to hear your plan for corralling 10-20 9,000 pound creatures that doesn't cost a fortune).
Enter the San Diego Zoo. In 2003 11 elephants were "rescued" from a planned cull in Swaziland and shipped to the United States. A few of the elephants went to Florida and the rest came to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where they proceeded to reproduce. Very quickly. One elephant arrived pregnant, and the one male went ahead and did his job with the rest of them. If memory serves, 8 babies were born in 8 years and one of the males that went to Florida was brought to San Diego, bringing the total elephant population at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to 17.
Yesterday, though, the total dropped to 16. One of the elephants, a semi-dominant female named Umoya, died after an apparent conflict with another elephant. This isn't entirely unusual because elephants are known to throw their massive weight around, and because their society is matriarchal (females are dominant) the many ladies need to work out a hierarchy. The reason this does seem unusual, however, is these elephants have lived together for 8 years and would be seen working together for a unified cause, like protecting a newborn. Umoya was #2 in the elephant herd, but #1 within her own little circle.
Unfortunately, no keepers were around to witness any fighting (the wounds were likely inflicted in the early morning hours before keepers arrive) so until the necropsy results we'll probably not know the cause or reasons. And even if it is proved that she died from wounds related to a fight we'll never know what caused it or probably who the other elephant in the fight was. Both male and female African elephants have tusks because males don't stick around in herds once they hit their teens, but Umoya was in an area with the herd's male. It's not unheard of for captive elephants to cause fatal damage to each other, either, but of all the zoos in this country the Safari Park gives their herd a pretty decent life.
Keepers said Umoya's wounds didn't immediately appear to be life threatening (not very deep, little blood), making her death even more shocking. Some of the keepers have been with Umoya since she arrived from Africa, and these elephants feel very much like family. People everywhere are heartbroken at the loss of pets, and these keepers have worked very intimately with the elephants for 8 years and are devastated at the loss of one of their herd.
Umoya left behind two calves, one of which is less than 2 years old (he'll be properly cared for by keepers and the rest of the herd). As a wild born elephant, her genes are valuable to the captive "world herd" of elephants, and the scientific and conservation communities will miss her, too. It's of course never ideal to keep elephants captive, even in the best of situations, but that's a whole different topic. The Safari Park, the Zoo, the keepers, the rest of the herd, her calves, and the San Diego public (yours truly included) will miss Umoya.
Lindsay writes her animal loving blog Miniature Mastadon and, right up until her senior year of high school, was going to work with animals. After changing courses and getting a degree in writing, she ended up working in a zoo for a little more than a year. Being face to face with rhinos, giraffes, ostriches, gaur and even super close to an elephant herd (faves) dawned the realization that she can't quite ignore the need to be involved in some way. The Miniature Mastadon is an outlet to write about animal news, triumphs, discoveries, and even some sadness. All discussion, thoughts, questions and stories are most fully welcome so come chime in!
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