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Caution: A herd of bull elephants is coming to the Denver Zoo

A A A Comments (4) By Melanie Asmar Thursday, Jul 9 2009

...continued from page 5

Craig Piper will usher in a new elephant era at the Denver Zoo.

Dale Leeds is the large-mammal curator at the Denver Zoo; Packy, a 47-year-old bull, towers over a female elephant at the Oregon Zoo.

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Denver Zoo

2300 Steele St.
Denver, CO 80205

Category: Attractions/Amusement Parks

Region: Downtown Denver

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But not everything about that scenario could be described as "majestic." Visitors will be able to smell musth and maybe witness a boy-on-boy tussle. Or perhaps, if the zoo ever hosts a female of breeding age, catch a glimpse of some late-afternoon lovemaking. And they'll most definitely be treated to a gander at an elephant penis, up to four feet long, twelve inches wide and shaped like an S.

But then, the Denver Zoo has the balls to handle it.

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Khoeh 08/03/2009 8:49:00 PM

Great article, its going to be interesting to see how they do all placed together-could be a challenge for the zoo keepers. Khoeh www.DenverBusinessGifts.com

Walter 07/19/2009 8:35:00 PM

It's tiresome to read these dumbed-down "cute" articles, where real animals are described like cartoon characters, as if they act just like funny-looking people instead of for their own reasons, on their own terms. Out here in the public we know that elephants aren't teenage boys, we've seen the wildlife films where males go into musth as a mating strategy that helps them compete for females, something they can't express in small zoo displays. I have to wonder why journalists treat the public like idiots, and why zookeepers help feed these misconceptions - does this distortion suit their purposes?

Joyce Poole 07/19/2009 11:06:00 AM

I am disappointed to see that this article contains quite a few inaccuracies about musth and the behavior of male elephants in general. There has been an enormous amount of study of male elephants in the wild - including my own decades-long research on musth and male-male competition. Either the reporter/writer didn't do her homework thoroughly or the people she spoke to were not well informed about male elephant behavior.

Elaine 07/11/2009 12:43:00 AM

Recently I've heard about so many examples of Denver Zoo going green, and now reading about Asian Tropics - definitely makes me a proud member of the zoo!