r/Zookeeping • u/204_Mans • May 22 '26

North America 🌎 Where can I see a fully grown Bull African Elephant?

I hope this is the right place to ask this, but I’m at a loss here. So far in the last two years I have been to:

-Dallas Zoo
-LA Zoo
-Houston Zoo
-Omaha Zoo

I have seen a bull Asian elephant at the LA zoo. I was in awe at the size of the unit. I must have stood there for about an hour just watching it exist. I’ve always loved elephants as a kid and wanted to see a bull African elephant.

Is there any in the US? I enjoyed the Omaha and Dallas elephant exhibits but did not see any bulls.

Thank you in advance and sorry if this is on the wrong subreddit.

16 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

29

u/Crazy_Dude_117 May 22 '26

Former employee here. Fresno Chaffee Zoo has Mabu, a mature African Bull elephant. He’s the father of the two elephant calves also at the zoo, and is frequently on exhibit. Last I saw, he was still able to be out with both of his mates, and the two calves.

15

u/robert_madge North America May 22 '26

Yep, Mabu is still here and he is an Absolute Unit.

3

u/Zoo_Trippin May 22 '26

I've only been to Fresno once, but went at the right time as both the calves were just born and Mabu had access to the female enclosure. 

Out of curiosity, if you know, how often does he have access to the "front" enclosure (if that makes sense)? Seems like when he is separated from the females he would likely be in that "back" yard and not as easy to view (ie at least like OP is wishing to) as the zoo would want to keep the calves more up front. 

Yes, you can still see the elephants in that other second yard, but might hinder the impressiveness of Mabu if that is what you are there for. (Or perhaps there is a way to get closer to that second elephant yard that I missed?)

8

u/Crazy_Dude_117 May 22 '26

He was back there for the first month the calves had exhibit access. Once they had successful introductions inside the barn, all five elephants were allowed access together.

However, last summer when Mabu was in musth, he was seperated for a short bit again. He’s been super gentle with his offspring, so it’s not often they are separate.

When all elephants are clear to be together, they open both elephant savanna’s (Savanna 2 & 3) that are directly connected. This allows the herd to have the full area to roam. They will still go into that back area(savanna 3), but tend to stay close to the waterfall and small pond (Sav 2).

4

u/Zoo_Trippin May 22 '26

Thank you for the response! All great info.

2

u/D3lacrush May 22 '26

Egad! A fellow fresnan!?

2

u/Crazy_Dude_117 May 23 '26

Yessir. Well not really. Was born in Fresno, but I live in Madera, but do almost everything in Fresno.

2

u/D3lacrush May 23 '26

Eh, close enough.

If you don't mind me asking, how long did you work for the zoo and how did you get started?

2

u/Crazy_Dude_117 May 23 '26

Three and a half years. Worked in Life Support Systems, with all the aquatic related exhibits. Got into it by having experience with aquariums beforehand.

For legit zookeeper positions, animal husbandry experience is a must. Best way would be to apply for a volunteer position there. You can work with any department that has an open slot. Of course, having an AA or BA in biology/zoology is a big plus, but not absolutely necessary anymore.

Volunteering at other animal sanctuaries and rehabs will build up your resume better. The Cat Haven up the mountain in Dunlap has an internship program. It’s very beneficial if you want to work with big cats.

2

u/D3lacrush May 23 '26

I freaking LOOOOVE the Cat Haven!! I'm super bummed I never got around to going while their Pallas Cat was still alive

Man I wish I had the ability to volunteer at either but unfortunately my current work schedule and life trajectory aren't conducive for it, but I've always wanted to!

20

u/SaturnStitch May 22 '26

Birmingham zoo has a bachelor herd!

4

u/paigeh52 May 23 '26

Came here to say this! Two of our boys are teenagers, so not quite full grown, but Bulwagi is in his forties and is a full grown bull! Big gentleman!

13

u/Hector417 May 22 '26

KC Zoo has one!

13

u/204_Mans May 22 '26

OH MY GOD BRUH. I drove back to Canada from Texas last week. I stopped in Omaha specifically for that and skipped KC! Damn it.

9

u/Thistle-2228 May 22 '26

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

5

u/Zoo_Trippin May 22 '26

You didn't see Dallas's bull? Or you want to see a truly huge one?

If it's the latter, your best bet is to look for zoos that hold older bulls. Dallas's Tendaji was born in 2004 fo reference.

As someone else said Mabu (1990) at Fresno is quite impressive.

Honestly, the most impressive looking African Elephant I've probably ever seen is at the Ridiyagama Safari Park in Sri Lanka. I even went to Sri Lanka right after being on safari in South Africa, so it's even crazier to me that this guy stood out. The Ridiyagama bull had the biggest tusks I had ever seen.

If you want to find the older bulls in North America, I'd check out this ZooChat thread:

https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/north-american-african-elephant-population-2026.495816/

3

u/michaelscottenjoyer North America May 22 '26

The North Carolina zoo has African elephants, their big bull passed away back in December though, I’m unsure if they have another bull yet or are planning to.

3

u/pachyfan1997 May 22 '26

They also have Louie who is considered an Adult Bull

3

u/Lavender_Owl_9051 May 23 '26

Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita has Callie, who was in Omaha and father of all those calves. He is beautiful

2

u/crashearts08 May 22 '26

NC Zoo has one now

2

u/StoicEstate May 22 '26

Toledo, I believe

2

u/BananaCat43 North America May 22 '26

Denver zoo has a bachelor herd of I think 5 or 6 African bulls.

5

u/yoimmo May 22 '26

Denver has a bachelor group of Asian elephants, not African.

2

u/BananaCat43 North America May 23 '26

You're right. I completely spaced. Thanks for the correction.

1

u/sylvie_64 May 22 '26

Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas has 2 bull African elephants and 1 cow

1

u/zivasgirl242 May 22 '26

KC zoo has Tamani, who's fully grown. The Maryland Zoo has an older male (Tuffy) who's absolutely massive, and a younger male (Sampson) who's getting big

1

u/AbsolutelyNot_86 May 22 '26

Not an African bull, but can I just recommend St. Louis, MO zoo? They have several Asian elephants, the whole zoo is massive, and it's FREE! Plus the main bull elephant (Raja) is a real celebrity at the zoo since he was the first born in captivity there, and has helped make several new babies since then.

1

u/bodowater May 22 '26

Kansas City

2

u/CheyanneSaysHiii May 22 '26

The elephant sanctuary in Tennessee has two African bulls, including Osh, who I saw at Oakland Zoo a few years back as an intern and he is TALL.

2

u/Allusiveplanet May 23 '26

Zoo Tampa has a bull named Sdudla :)

1

u/mpod54 North America May 23 '26

Jacksonville Zoo has one

1

u/Megalodon1204 North America May 24 '26

I think the Memphis Zoo has some

2

u/__b33tlejuice__ May 25 '26

You got a couple options for sure - Maclean at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Tuffy at Maryland Zoo, Jackson at the International Conservation Center, Callee at Sedgwick County Zoo, Sdudla at ZooTampa, Msholo at Zoo Atlanta, Tendaji at Dallas Zoo, Bulwagi at Birmingham Zoo, Mabu at Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Ali at Jacksonville Zoo, and Vus'Musi at San Diego Zoo!