Tanja
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Sosto Zoo in Hungary

Biography

♀ Tanja


Alternative name:	Tanya

Identification

EEP nr	8204

Description
Species:	Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:	Female ♀ 50 years old
Management:	Free contact
Origin
Born:	* 1975 unknown
Birth place:	in India unspecified location
Imported:	1980? by Zoo-Forss (Ingemar Forss)
Locations - owners
Present / last location:	Sosto Zoo, in Hungary

Date of arrival

2009-09-12	Sosto Zoo from Terra Natura theme park, Benidorm

2004-08-29	Terra Natura theme park, Benidorm from Gänserndorf Safari Park

2002-11-09	Gänserndorf Safari Park from Port Lympne Zoo

1992-07-23	Port Lympne Zoo from Boras Zoo

1982-03-01	Boras Zoo from Eskilstuna Zoo

	Eskilstuna Zoo from Port of Trivandrum

	Port of Trivandrum from Zoo-Forss (Ingemar Forss)

	Zoo-Forss (Ingemar Forss) from Trivandrum Zoo

	Trivandrum Zoo from India unspecified location

Record history
History of updates	2025-03-17:

Latest document update	2021-09-18 10:19:23
Google map

Biography

Tanja is a living Female ♀ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) , located at the Sosto Zoo, in Hungary.

Tanja arrived in 2009-09-12 to the Sosto Zoo, relocated from the Terra Natura theme park, Benidorm, in Spain.

Social

Tanja lives together with 5 other elephants at the Sosto Zoo: (detailed list)

♂ Jambo born 2004-03-15
♀ Kimani born 2018-06-16
♀ Kwanza born 2001-08-13
♀ Motki born 1969
♀ Yasmin (Yasmine) born 1966

Casualties

2 casualties

1992: elephant keeper Mikael Eriksson attacked by Tanja. inside the stable, trying to push him down and squeeze him on the stable floor. Mikael Eriksson Survived. Saved due to thathe was attacked in a corner, why the elephant couldnt squeeze him. Managed to get free and escape.
1992: elephant keeper Tony Svensson attacked by Tanja. Svensson during walk in forest outside the enclosure, by pushing him and stamping on his foot. Tony Svensson Survived.

Origin

Tanja was born unknown 1975 at India unspecified location. and imported 1980? by Zoo-Forss (Ingemar Forss)

Comments / pictures

Contradictory records:

Records about Tanja from EEPEuropean Studbook for Asian elephants state following records for the asian elephant Tanja:

8204 F ~ Oct 1975 WILD WILD THAILAND ~ Oct 1975 NONE Birth TANYA
ESKILSTUN 1 Jan 1981 NONE Transfer
BORAS 1 Mar 1982 EEI002 Transfer
LYMPNE 23 Jul 1992 P92064 Transfer
SAFARIGAN 9 Nov 2002 M05006 Loan to
TERRA NAT 30 Aug 2004 EA006 Transfer

Source: EEP studbook for Asian elephants online

According to EEG born 1972?

Official origin in EEP records is Thailand, But according to Jonas Wahlström, Skansen-Akvariet, Stockholm, Sweden, she was shipped from the port in Trivandrum, with origin from south India. (Jonas and animal-dealer Ingemar Forss went with her on the ship from India)

Attacked keepers Mikael Eriksson and Tony Svensson in Boras Zoo, why she was transfered to off-hand and exported to Port Lympne. Very hairy in younger ages.

Tanja had during her first 25 years extremely amounts of hair, see photo.

Tanja in Sosto Zoo

Tanja as teenager in Borås Zoo

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). Tanja, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Sosto Zoo in Hungary. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 30 March 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=1376. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

Dan Koehl
Erland Axel Wadsten
Jonas Wahlström
Elephants and Egotists by Patricia Sumerling

Litterature about Sosto Zoo

Recommended Litterature:

Random literature As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Links

Relevant links

Internal relevant links

List of all recorded elephants in: European studbook for Asian elephants
More elephants from: Sosto Zoo
More elephants from: Hungary
More elephants that was born: 1975
More elephants that was imported: 1980?
All breeding cows
All breeding bulls
The elephant database startpage. Statistics
List of all captive born elephants in the database

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