Between 1900 and 2017, 20 elephant births took place in Switzerland: 1963 1.0 Sahib-Friodolin at Circus KNIE (Ceylon/Siam) 1965 0.1 Madura at Circus KNIE (Java/Siam) 1966 0.1 Ota at Zoo Basel (Idunda/Omari) 1984 0.1 Komali ...
Elephant Training and Dressage in the zoo and circus
Why are elephants trained? Unlike domestic animals, which were bred continuously deploying the most suitable animals, elephants in the zoo and in the circus are wild animals – however sweet and nice they are ...
Elephants in Snow and Cold
Do elephants freeze? When the zoo public – being themselves wrapped up in thick coats, gloves and woolly hats – see the elephants in winter in the outside enclosure, they wonder, whether it’s not ...
Pregnancy of elephants
How long does an elephant cow’s menstrual cycle last? An elephant cow’s oestrogen cycle lasts 3-4 months. Thus an elephant cow is only ready to be covered by the bull about 3 to 4 ...
Musth of the elephant bulls
What does the word “musth” mean? An essential part of the problems of the keeping of elephant bulls is the so-called musth. Musth is a word of Persian origin and is translated in the ...
Mice and Elephants
Are elephants really afraid of mice? The rumour that elephants are scared of mice is very persistent and there are whole collections of jokes circulating on this topic. However, these jokes are just as ...
Ankus, Elephant Hook and Whip
What is an elephant hook? The ankus or elephant hook, in the colloquial language of the elephant keepers briefly named hooks, is an very old aid in handling elephants by humans in a direct ...
Herpes – Smallpox – Tuberculosis by the elephants
Which illnesses are very dangerous for elephants? Elephant smallpox, tuberculosis and elephant herpes hang over every elephant stable like the sword of Damocles. Smallpox In the last few years, elephant smallpox has been observed ...
Elephant Feeding
What do elephants eat? Anyone who has ever watch the elephants while eating, will never use the term “seizure” for ingestion of elephants. The elephants eat in peace, where they prepare every bite palatable. ...
Death in the elephant stable
How old can elephants grow? The life expectancy of an elephant is between 0 and 50 up to 60 years. In spite of this high life expectancy, only a few elephants do actually reach ...