Photo 1, Sneezy, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 2, Sneezy, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 3, Sneezy, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 4, Gunda & Sneezy, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 5, Gunda, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 6, Sneezy, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 7, Sneezy & Maverick, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
Photo 7, Sneezy & Maverick, Tulsa Zoo, July 1994
Courtesy of M Easley
Courtesy of M Easley
For Additional "ShowMe Elephants" Articles:
>> The Father's Photographs
>> Tulsa Zoo
Ryan- thanks for sharing! Interesting to see that fenceline btw maverick and sneezy. Also sneezy's body condition and TGS. Ofcourse gunda is such a classic Asian elephant- she is our "barbie" of the bunch.
ReplyDeleteJessica
Tulsa Zoo elephant keeper
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed them! I am embarrassed to say I had to research 'TGS' to find out what you were talking about.
For anyone else interested, 'TGS' is an abbreviation for 'Temporal Gland Secretion.' I found an interesting article by the late Dr. Bets Rasmussen discussing TGS in both male and female African and Asian elephants. The article was published in 1984, when research of this nature was in its first beginning stages. I will include the beginning and ending statements of the abstract here:
"Serum and temporal gland secretions (TGS) were obtained from mature wild African (Loxodonta africana) and captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Samples were obtained from five cows and eight bulls culled for management purposes in Kruger National Park, South Africa, and from four females and two males residing at the Washington Park Zoo, Portland, Oregon. Our purpose was to describe the levels of the androgens, testosterone (T), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and to correlate these observations with sex, species and behavioral status...
...The temporal gland appears to actively concentrate androgens in both African males and females, but in the Asian male the gland secretes only during musth when the greatest concentration of both T and DHT were observed. The apparent difference in the degree of temporal gland secretory activity between the two species suggests a more specific communicative function within the Asian male."
>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6704470
Radar- yeah I was writing a daily report when I replied to the post.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of TGS, I am doing a thesis project on sneezy regarding Testosterone levels based on some of Bets work in three stages- pre OKC girls, OKC breeding loan and post OKC girls. It should be interesting.
I'd like to post some new photos of sneezy for comparison if Ryan would like them.
Jessica
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the confusion. 'Radar' is my circus nickname. One and the same!
Your thesis project sounds very interesting and I would love to read a copy when it is completed. Was semen collected on Sneezy while the Asha and Chandra were in Tulsa? I wonder if sperm production and quality is affected with the presence of cycling females.
I would love to post any pictures you have to share. I had some nice photographs I took during my visit of Sneezy's PC behaviors in the yard but the keepers requested no behind-the-scenes pictures on the internet. I of course complied. You can send them to my email at shomeetigers[at]yahoo.com. Thank you!