Oz teen elephant pregnancy sparks protests

Animals rights groups are none too pleased that Sydney's Taronga zoo has allowed a nine-year-old Asian elephant to get up the duff a full two years before what they consider is the captive pachyderm age of consent. Elephant Thong Dee is is apparently five months into her 22-month pregnancy, something which has delighted the …

[Anonymous Coward]

The biggest risk to mother and baby

If the feds think it is a Jihady Elephant....Booommm

[Rory Webber]

Hang on, hang on....

One of the elephants was called Porntip??

[Ferry Boat]

Chaviphant

Soon the teenage mother will be pushing poorly dressed baby in a pram wearing a tracksuit, smoking a fag and swearing at the baby's father. Bet she'll call it something like Kylie too. See 'em all the time around where I live.

[Cavan]

have they made it pee on a stick?

is it really pregnant, or is it trying to subvert our society by blending in, as an australian, with an explosive prosthetic pregnancy wotsit. the feds have warned us, suspect anything!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

@ Hang on, hang on....

I rather suspect that there'll be some action with Porntip and Thong Dee. Shame the one with the boring name will be left out...

[TeeCee]

Benefits

Of course, the elephant in question will now go right to the top of the list for free council accomodation, which should save the zoo a bit of cash.

[Steve Roper]

Paedophile pachyderm

So an underage female elephant has been illegally sexed up by some perverted pachyderm who should know better. Are they going to charge the father elephant as a paedophile and put him on the Sex Offenders' register? Poor sod - I'm sure his life won't be worth living after this!

[Chris Collins]

Slut

Perhaps this particular elephant is a trunked teen strumpet and not deserving of our concerns. it already lives in social housing.

[Pete]

prudes running wild

I'm not an expert, but I'd say that of you have two elephants that are intent on having sex, there's not much that a zoo keeper can do about it. Calling it "irresponsible" and likening it to "allowing" 12 year-olds getting pregnant is completely bizarre.

Maybe these people woud prefer the animals to wear trousers and skirts - that way they could kid themselves that they're just like the ones in childrens' books - with no reproductive organs at all.

[Steve Evans]

@Pete

I agree totally.

If she was capable of getting pregnant, then surely she will be capable of delivering a baby Nelly.

It's nature after all, these people need to learn to stop applying human morals to animals. I'm sure in the wild a 9 year old Nelly would have had the boys sniffing round her behind on more than one occasion.

The only reason the human age is set at 16 is so the parents can learn how to write and fill in their social security forms correctly. There's no biological reason for it, as has been proved many times in Basildon.

[Les Matthew]

She can't remember who the father is

because she was Elephants trunk at the time.

[GrahamT]

A spokesman said....

"lack of maternal ... experience make this pregnancy very risky."

So that would apply to every childless female of whatever species. Paraphrasing " You shouldn't have a first child unless you already have experience of being a mother." duh, how does that work?

Paris, because that's the sort of logic you would expect from a sleb

[Anonymous Coward]

"Allowing" ?

..."the equivalent of allowing your 12-year-old daughter to become pregnant"...

I didn't know that 12-year-olds needed their parents' permission before getting pregnant - I think I've just found the solution to the teenage pregnancy issue - tick the box marked "no".

Paris because she doesn't need permission.

[Anonymous Coward]

Unnatural conception

"If she was capable of getting pregnant, then surely she will be capable of delivering a baby Nelly."

It's not the physical side of the bregnancy that is worrying the concerned citizens, but the social/societal side. Same as the human age of consent laws. Elephants in the wild live in larger herds than in captivity, so see mothers caring for their young much more frequently, and so learn more quickly what they are supposed to do.

[Mike]

Just stop.

This is getting out of hand.

Now we're going to dictate when animals can get pregnant?

These tree-hugging bunny-loving lentil-eating 2CV-driving sandal-wearing technology-hating progress-stopping fukwits need to stop meddling in the world with things that aren't their problem and go get a 9-5 job like the rest of us

[Dave]

Minds eye

"I'm not an expert, but I'd say that of you have two elephants that are intent on having sex, there's not much that a zoo keeper can do about it. "

Now thats a video that should end up on "Animals do the strangest things"

[Andy]

re; Unnatural conception

But that's not a problem as elephants never forget so she'll just remember what her mother did for her!

[Spleen]

Stupid comparison bonanza

"the equivalent of allowing your 12-year-old daughter to become pregnant... completely irresponsible."

Which is to say, not very irresponsible at all, since humans become fertile around the age of 13 and the exact age will vary between person to person, down as well as up.

Humans have age of consent laws and a taboo against pederastry because we attach more significance to sex than procreation. Because of this we rightly base our definition of age-appropriate sex on emotional maturity, not physical sexual maturity, and those who can't make the distinction are, rightly, cast out of civilised society. Elephants are animals, and to try and apply our sexual mores onto them is the most ridiculous example of anthropomorphism I've ever encountered.

[Anonymous Coward]

Um...

FFS when does this end.

"the equivalent of allowing your 12-year-old daughter to become pregnant".

And what kind of a statement is that? Don't you people realise that the age of consent is an arbitrary figure and although it is 16 in this country does not apply to other countries and/or cultures and indeed species. But why should we care - if these people/species don't share our application of the law we'll just force it on them in the name of democracy, invade their country, steal their oil, kill them. So grab your elephant gun - ivory poaching is legal again cos them elephants are a bunch of peedos.

That mayfly shouldn't be allowed to copulate until it's at least 2 hours old and anyone who allows it is irresponsible and should be hung, drawn and quartered! Stands to reason really.

[Curtis W. Rendon]

As a tree-hugging hippy...

What are these fools trying to call the zoo irresponsible for 'allowing' the elephants to have sex?

Surely they should be outraged by promiscuous amoebas exchanging protoplasm willi-nilly, and the mating habits of some orchids <whew>.

What planet are these lackwits from, and where do I send a donation to send them back? (preferably in an unpressurized capsule lacking spacesuits...) Or perhaps they can throw their bodies between the elephants.

[Iain]

@Cavan

Yes, they absolutely, literally have. Amusingly (or not, depending on how easily amused you are) human pregnancy testing kits also work on elephants.

[The Other Steve]

Oh, honestly!

I mean, its like every time I think I've managed to get my head around just how fucked up, stupid, and wilfully ignorant people can be if they really put their minds to it, something like this comes along and I'm right back to where I started.

I guess Einstein was right, human stupidity really /is/ infinite.

Alien, because that's what these ignorant, interfering hippies are like to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if she has..

... a Trumpity-Tramp Stamp?

[Scott]

She'd be....

....legal in Paraguay, then

ok, ok - I'm going

[WhatWasThat?]

Definitions, please

I would be more worried about the people that named these poor pachyderms...

1. Tang Mo - A slang term... Don't see it? How about "Mo Tang"? ...and I don't mean the orange drink (possibly only obvious to Mary Kens).

2. Thong Dee - Sounds like the latest female Chav rapper. Or would that be "Heavy" Thong Dee?

3. Porntip - 'nuff said.

4. Pak Boon - Almost thought it was the one island in the sea of depravity, but no. Obviously a cleaver anagram of "Bak _oon" (one letter left out for society's sake!).

Basically, since we have complete suceeded in opressing all of humanity with our Puritanical morals, obviously it is time for the animal kingdom to toe the line, eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

Teach them a lesson

Those damned elephants, out of control, underaged sex. what next hanging round street corners drinking cheap cider or eating formenting bananas. Thomas Edison had the right idea of how to deal with elephants.

Penguin because some americans think the emporer penguin in "the march of the Penguins" was a perfect example of the proper christian family.

[LaeMi Qian]

The father

The father is even younger than the mum-to-be. It's clearly Pachy(derm)-love.

But he appears intent on sticking around (and not just because of the enclosure - he continues to lavish attention on her, which not all male elephants will do once they have done the deed).

[John A Blackley]

And so it goes

"Erica Martin, Asia Pacific director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare," said...................

The usual, busybody, none-of-her-business drivel that these professional hand-wringers usually spout whenever asked for a quote on a zoo story.

[Anonymous Coward]

Irresponsible!

The zoo should have supplied contraceptives, or at least an elephant-sized burka! Now it is too late, and an abortion is surely in the works. Likely either option would enrage the right-to-lifers!

[Adrian Esdaile]

No wonder they got pregnant!

I've been there, the zoo lets them wander around STARK NAKED, their gear just out there for all to see!

It's a disgrace! They should be ashamed! I had to try the protect the eyes of every innocent child on the whole flat earth! God would NEVER allow this to happen! All the elephants in Eden wore pants!

</joke>

Mines' the snow-leopard-skin jacket, with baby-seal fur pants and ivory buttons, thanks.

[Richard Freeman]

@ Chaviphant

I think the real horror for the busy-bodies is that Taronga park zoo is in Mosman - this is one of the wealthier (if not the wealthiest) Suburbs of Sydney and It is felt that not only having a nine year old pregnant - but daring to publicize the Fact has bought down the tone of the hole (deliberate typo) suburb and is just not the done thing.

If the zoo had been further west - say at Mt Druitt (a surprisingly flat place) or maybe Dubbo no-one would have commented (except the odd current affairs program - but who watches them anyway)

Paris - Because she is wealthy and brings down the tone.....

[Damien Holley]

Ah the paramount importance of animals at Taronga

Yes, Taronga management have a sterling reputation, I remember them deciding that sending a few crocs by plane for an hour flight was too expensive, so they sent them by truck, for over 10 hours.

I believe at least one of the crocs died, the others were pretty worse for wear.

I would rather hear from the keepers of the elephants than management.

[Mr Larrington]

Feh

This sort of thing happens all the time in Swindon and nobody complains. FSVO "nobody", obv.

[Anonymous Coward]

How can they tell?

What a spoiled brat that female must be to call the pregnancy of an Elephant disgusting. Females of any species become pregnant when they are ready and be they Human or Elephant they will do just as they wish. Let us remember that it is not too long ago that humans "declared themselves married" when they felt ready to breed, they had children from 11 years of age onwards and usually died before they were 35 years old. It was only the intervention of the Salvation Army in the 1900s which brought about the "age of consent" legislation and that was to save very young girls from exploitation as prostitutes. Animals breed when they can and the earlier they do so the better is the issue.

[Ishkandar]

@John A Blackley

Have pity on her. She has to justify her extortionate salary somehow !! Otherwise, people will stop donating towards these charities and she wouldn't get paid !!

[Jon Tocker]

I think I'll print out the article

and carry it on me so that the next time some volunteer pedestrian-botherer waves some printed matter at me and tries to make me feel guilty for not donating to (nor signing up and making regular donations to) their worthy cause of "land rights for gay black whales" or whatever, I can wave it under their nose and say "You're all a pack of loonies, fuck off before I douse your bicycle with hydrocarbons and set fire to it."

Had some great laughs at a lot of the posts - still have images in my head of some poor sod of a keeper trying to keep two randy elephants apart...

OUCH!

As for Erica Martin, if she really wants to be of help to animals, I understand that one of the biggest problems facing cheetahs in the wild is that they're so fucked after chasing down their prey they don't have the energy to eat it immediately, nor the strength to defend it - thus they end up getting their food stolen by hyenas and they don't get to replenish the energy they expended making the kill.

What Erica - and many others like her - can do to help is to provide a nice, low-energy-outlay meal for the cheetahs. As there's no way she could run as fast as a healthy gazelle, the cheetah should have ample energy after killing her to eat AND smack down any hyenas that come sniffing about. WIN-WIN situation - for the wild cheetahs and us...

She's probably a vegan and Nature only has one use for herbivores....