Max (left) and Rudi (right) are already starting to show themselves as adult males, so it is appropriate for them to leave the Prague Zoo and strengthen breeding – on the recommendation of the breeding program coordinator – elsewhere in Europe. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo
The first purely Prague elephants Max and Rudi are coming of age and are therefore heading to new homes. Maxmilián, born in April 2016, will go to the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium in June, while Rudolph, who is half a year younger, will still be traveling to the Pombia Safari Park in northern Italy in April. The two young Indian elephants went down in history as the first elephants born and conceived at the Prague Zoo. Visitors were able to say goodbye to the almost eight-year-old brothers on Saturday., they got a “farewell gift” in the grass enclosure of the Elephant Valley near the Gulab restaurant.
Indian elephant Maxmilián (Max) is the first elephant born and conceived in Prague. Now, on the threshold of his eighth birthday, a new home awaits him at Antwerp Zoo in Belgium. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
“The birth of the first and second ‘100% Prague elephants’ – Max and Rudi – was a great satisfaction for us, and the upcoming farewell is all the more difficult for us,” said the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek. “Their arrival in the world was not only the result of breeding efforts, but also the long-term work associated with obtaining their mothers – Janita and Tamara – from Sri Lanka.”
Maxmilián was born on April 5, 2016 to Janita, with Mekong as the father. Max has been playful and self-confident since childhood. Named after Emperor Maximilian II. Habsburg, who probably had the first elephant ever to enter Czech territory in his yard. Rudolf was born on October 7, 2016 to Tamara, while the father was Ankhor. Compared to Max, Rudi is more conservative and calm. His name is a reminder of Rudolph II. Habsburg, whose Prague menageries were the forerunners of European zoos.
Rudolph (Rudi), the second Indian elephant conceived and born in Prague, has larger tusks compared to his brother. He, too, will soon leave the Prague Zoo and head to the northern Italian Pombia Safari Park. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Today, both male elephants are on the threshold of adulthood, and they are also beginning to manifest their personalities accordingly. The task of the coordinator of the European Breeding Program (EEP) was to choose a suitable location for both youngsters.
“For me, the breeding of any animal is truly complete only when it is involved in breeding with us, or goes to a new home as part of the breeding program,” claims curator of mammals Pavel Brandl. “It must be added that Max and Rudi stayed with us for an exceptionally long time, mainly thanks to the great coexistence with the adult male Ankhor. He functioned flawlessly as a calming element among elephant adolescents.”
Max (center) and Rudi (right) lived in the Prague Zoo in recent years alongside the adult male and father Rudi Ankhor (left). Ankhor was not afraid to discipline the two daring young men, and it was thanks to his calm and patient nature that the elephant brothers could stay in Prague’s Elephant Valley for quite a long time. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo