Comments on: Does the African elephant cross breed with its Indian counterpart – viably or un-viably ? http://www.capuchinng.org/colobus-monkey/does-the-african-elephant-cross-breed-with-its-indian-counterpart-viably-or-un-viably Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:50:59 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Cal King http://www.capuchinng.org/colobus-monkey/does-the-african-elephant-cross-breed-with-its-indian-counterpart-viably-or-un-viably/comment-page-1#comment-1847 Cal King Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:40:59 +0000 http://www.capuchinng.org/colobus-monkey/does-the-african-elephant-cross-breed-with-its-indian-counterpart-viably-or-un-viably#comment-1847 "Although successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is highly unlikely in the wild, in 1978 at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later[69]. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived." since both elephant species have the same number of chromosomes, one of the major barriers to hybrid fertility does not exist. If an hybrid succeeds in becoming an adult, it is potentially fertile.<br><b>References : </b><br>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant "Although successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is highly unlikely in the wild, in 1978 at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant’s cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later[69]. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived."

since both elephant species have the same number of chromosomes, one of the major barriers to hybrid fertility does not exist. If an hybrid succeeds in becoming an adult, it is potentially fertile.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

]]> By: KTDykes http://www.capuchinng.org/colobus-monkey/does-the-african-elephant-cross-breed-with-its-indian-counterpart-viably-or-un-viably/comment-page-1#comment-1846 KTDykes Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:06:59 +0000 http://www.capuchinng.org/colobus-monkey/does-the-african-elephant-cross-breed-with-its-indian-counterpart-viably-or-un-viably#comment-1846 They don't breed and aren't in the same genus, let alone the same species. A closer relative of the Indian elephant was the extinct mammoth.<br><b>References : </b><br> They don’t breed and aren’t in the same genus, let alone the same species. A closer relative of the Indian elephant was the extinct mammoth.
References :

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