Elephant teenage pregnancy - anthropomorphism gone batshit insane??!

and did the elephant have to be so goddamn friggin' sassy the whole time? jesus.

She was part of a group of Asian elephants imported from Thailand two years ago.

Article doesn't really give enough info to say if the complaint is valid or not. What are the potential problems of pregnancy in young elephants? I must say though that stuff like "they actually recommended Thong Dee for immediate breeding" is sort of an industrial way of talking about an animal. You do sense that the zoo is seeing lotsa Aussie $$$s at this being a national first and maybe that's clouding their judgement over what's actually right for the animal.

From here:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=young-sydney-elephants-pr

Animal rights groups said on Thursday that there was little conservation benefit in Thong Dee's pregnancy and that the young elephant faced health risks.

"We know that calves born in zoos have double the mortality rate in the wild, and this pregnancy will put both mother and calf at great risk.," Bidda Jones, chief scientist with Australia's Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (RSCPA).

"Still birth, infanticide and rejection of calves are the main causes of infant mortality and Thong Dee's age and lack of maternal and social experience make this pregnancy very risky," Jones said in a statement.

"Thong Dee should be out at the mall with her other elephant friends, talking about Justin Timberlake, algebra, and bulls, not home raising a calf."

You've been remarkably restrained given her name, Dan.

Mackro usually makes better "What's Happening?" jokes than I do.

I wonder what, in the wild, would have kept Thong Dee from getting knocked up?

I think female elephants live in matriarchal groups, which gives the younger elephants some protection against both predators and male elephants.