Are bulls a big challenge?

The male elephants represent a special challenge within the keeping of elephants. As is the case for most mammals, also with the elephants the male animal is stronger and more massive than the females. Even the owners of horses declare to have problems with stallions and farmers, who keep an own bull, are the exception to the rule.

What is different with elephant bulls?

With the elephant bull, there is still the additional phenomenon of the musth apart from its size and strength.
The musth has the effect that elephant bulls cannot be kept like female elephants. Elephant bulls, which are tied up in the stable for hygiene, are a thing of the past. Where this is still done, a heavy accident is pre-programmed.

Do they require a great effort?

The efforts a zoo has to do for its bull keeping are huge. Besides a separate stable and external enclosure, the bull also needs most qualified bull keepers.

What should a bull's stable look like?

The bull's stable has to be constructed by the principle of Protected Contact with an exchange stable. This means that the stable can be divided into two halves by a sliding gate. When the gate is closed, in one half the stable can be cleaned and the feed can be prepared, while in the other half the elephant bull is eating or waiting. With this keeping principle the elephant keeper and the bull don't get into direct contact and so accidents can be avoided on the whole.

How are bulls treated?

In order to the hygiene of the bull being ensured, the stable barrier has to consist of solid iron bars, which have spaces big enough to wash the elephant but not so big that the elephant can reach the keeper by its trunk.

Why are there so few zoos with elephant bulls?

Because of these structural expenditures, elephant bulls are quite rare in zoos. However this has to change in the near future. Since every zoo with a breeding bull wants to and has to breed, statistically every second elephant birth is a bull calf. All these bull calves need a new and good place. Because already at young age the elephant bulls can become dangerous for the keepers and therefore should be kept in an exchange stable at the age of approximately 4 - 5 years. Unfortunately at present very few zoos are prepared for the keeping of two or - still better - several bulls.

What do bulls' stables in Switzerland look like?

Unfortunately the today's situation of elephant bull keeping is not pleasing in Switzerland either.
The only adult bull, Maxie in Zurich is living in a very small and cramped exchange stable. The stable has a little bit more than twice the body length. In order to turn around the own axis, Maxie has to duck because of the beautiful long tusks. These cramped conditions are a big problem, primarily during the musth, since Maxie's musth usually occurs in winter.
During this time of the year the elephants - because of climatic reasons - can be left only for a short time in the outer enclosures. So there's nothing left to do for it, than to stereotype or to beg for feed.
The stereotyping, i.e. to swing back and forth with head and body in a way "typical of elephants", is so strong that deepenings like footprints have engraved at the place where it is usually standing.

In order to increase the space for the elephant cows after the birth from Farha, the elephant stable was somewhat extended. The development was thus planned that also the elephant bull Maxie can use this area occasionally, to improve the cramped conditions of the actual bull stable sometimes.

Elephant bulls in circuses?

In the circus it is still more impossible nowadays to keep an elephant bull - at least to some extent - in a way which is appropriate for the animal. Until a few years ago, the people from the circus, but also the audience, had a different opinion. And even today there are small circuses, which have elephant bulls with them.

There are still some circuses that hold elephant bulls even these days, however. Asian elephant bull Shenka (dead 23.12.2007) of Circus Alberti with Stefan Frank is famous. But the duo is an absolutely positive exception to the rule. At more than 40 years of age Shenka seems to have adapted fully to a solitary existence in the circus.

How were things in days gone by?

A circus which took a pride in itself, hat at least one elephant bull in its stable. Again and again it came to bad accidents for which both the trainer and the bull paid with their lives.
When a bull had its musth, it could no longer work in the circus ring and was degraded to an exhibit. A sad example is the bull Tusko, which in the 30's lived in America. Because it was a feared "mankiller", it was - tied up and bound in chains - presented to the audience as a beast.