Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants

The following press release was distributed on Thursday, January 21, 2010 by In Defense of Animals. The St. Louis Zoo is currently home to Sri, who originally lived at the Woodland Park Zoo for 21 years. While the Zoo insists that it would be cruel to send Bamboo, Chai, or Watoto across country to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, they had no problem shipping Sri to Missouri to breed.  Sri got pregnant and the fetus died in utero.  Sri still carries the dead fetus 5 years later.

San Rafael, Calif. – In Defense of Animals (IDA), joined by a top authority on elephant behavior and biology, today strongly criticized the St. Louis Zoo for recklessly breeding elephants. The charge follows an announcement by the zoo that the elephant Rani is again pregnant, despite serious complications following the last two births at the zoo and the threat posed by a deadly elephant virus.

In a statement released today, Dr. Keith Lindsay, a conservation biologist with thirty years experience studying wild elephants in Africa with the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, stated:

“Elephants deserve our respect and human decency, not confinement and control in degrading, dangerous conditions. St Louis Zoo is a classic example of how not to keep elephants in captivity. The problems are many and easy to see: eight elephants in a subdivided enclosure of just over an acre when they really need square miles, physical ailments resulting from the lack of movement, a cold climate requiring even closer confinement for months on end, and an incurable disease that is more likely to spread in such a tightly-packed group. How can zoo authorities be thinking of breeding under such conditions, inflicting additional stress on the mothers and bringing tiny calves into such a world of suffering?”

With the zoo’s two most recent births, each calf suffered life-threatening situations unseen in wild-living elephants. Maliha, born in 2006, failed to gain weight when mother Ellie didn’t produce enough milk and required extraordinary measures to insure her survival. Jade, born in 2007, was rejected and attacked by her mother on more than one occasion, suffering “superficial abrasions and contusions” during one incident, according to zoo records.
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Watoto alone, pacing in Shower Room

Seattle, WA – Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) has been inducted into IDA’s (In Defense of Animal) Hall of shame.  Lack of space, captivity-induced ailments, and the deadly breeding program all add up to suffering for Bamboo, Chai, and Watoto.  This suffering in addition to WPZ’s search for ways to cut costs, begs for the elephants to be released to the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary (TES)— at no cost to Seattle taxpayers or WPZ.

From a humane perspective, elephant experts say WPZ’s less-than-one acre elephant exhibit is inadequate for these migratory giants who are genetically wired to travel great distances.

Seattle’s winters force the elephants indoors for 16 – 17 hours a day.  “Their stall permits them to pace only a few steps in any direction. Outdoors they have less than 1 acre!” says Nancy Pennington, Co-founder of Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants (FOWPZE).

WPZ’s  medical records reveal that Watoto, Bamboo and Chai suffer from colic, arthritis, obesity, herpes (which killed Hansa at 6-years- old) and foot infections.  Foot disease is the number one reason zoo elephants are euthanized and Chai has suffered from foot infections for over ten years.

“Particularly heartbreaking is witnessing Bamboo, Chai, and Watoto’s repetitive neurotic behaviors— the effects of long term suffering” says Pennington.

WPZ is planning to artificially inseminate Chai for the 56^th time in the spring.  Any calf born at this herpes-infected Zoo will likely die from the disease just as Hansa did.  WPZ has no infection control in place.   There is no cure for this excruciatingly painful disease that results in an almost certain death in young Asian elephants.

FOWPZE is calling for our elephants to join 15 other elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary; roam hills, forests and meadows; and swim in a 25-acre lake—all in a lush sub-tropical climate.

WPZ needs to make the unselfish and prudent financial decision to let Bamboo, Chai and Watoto heal from the traumas of zoo confinement.

Joan Baez

Joan Baez played a show at the Woodland Park Zoo recently, and stopped in at the elephant exhibit to get a first-hand look at how the elephants live at the zoo. This unanticipated and unsolicited article is her reaction. Here is an excerpt:

The elephant caretakers were kind enough to show me around the barn and introduce me to Watoto, Bamboo, and Chai. I blew into their trunks, and they blew back. We fed them carrots through the bars. They had almost no room to move, and when let outside they had only a tiny amount of barren ground to pace.

The concert was a huge success, not in small part because the Seattleites treated the rain as though it were a call to enjoy the wonders of Mother Nature. I dedicated a song to the elephants, making up the words as I went along, to the spiritual “Pilgrim of Sorrow.”

Watoto, Bamboo, and Chai were left pacing their unhappy quarters. Hopefully, if indeed elephants never forget, they can remember the happier times of their former lives. Better yet, with your help, they might be able to once more live in open space. With a concerted effort I believe they can be moved, and the ugly little secret of abused elephants at the zoo will be removed with them. Seattle is too wholesome a city to sustain such a blight under its generous skies.

Read the full story on Joan’s website.

The Ballard News-Tribune posted a great opinion piece about the conditions and expense of the elephant exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo, written by elephant advocate and FOWPZE co-founder Alyne Fortgang.

Woodland Park Zoo announced it will be closing the Night House exhibit in order to save money. It is reported that the zoo is cutting $700,000 dollars, including 12 full-time jobs, from its $29 million budget.

The most expensive animals to keep on display at a zoo are elephants – close to $400,000.00 a year for the three elephants housed at Woodland Park Zoo.

In addition to being expensive, the postage stamp-sized exhibit is woefully inadequate for the planet’s largest land mammal.

For about seven months of the year, the elephants are locked in a barren barn stall for 16 to 17 hours a day due to climate.

Outdoors, they share less than one acre of yard. Science has conclusively shown that deprivation of space and social contact causes mental and physical suffering in elephants, resulting in their lifespan being shortened by decades.

Read the full article about the WPZ elephant exhibit here.

Elephant on an Indian sanctuary

A major indication that zoos are on the wrong side of history when they insist on keeping elephants in tiny zoo “habitats”, this article came out of the Associated Press this past week:

NEW DELHI — All elephants living in Indian zoos and circuses will be moved to wildlife parks and game sanctuaries where the animals can graze more freely, officials said Friday.

The decision affects around 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses in the country, said B.K. Gupta, an officer at India’s Central Zoo Authority.

The AP even acknowledged what elephant experts have been saying for years (at least those not affiliated with zoos):

Increasingly, research shows that elephants in the wild have longer life spans and better health and reproductive records than those in captivity, Sukumar said.

Zoo elephants often die prematurely and contract diseases or suffer obesity and arthritis more frequently than in their natural habitats, he said.

The sad news out of this article is that many captive elephants in India live terrible lives in temples and logging camps. Those elephants will not be released by this order. But as EcoWorldly points out, it is definitely a major step in the right direction.

Read the full AP story here

“Bizarro” cartoonist, Dan Piraro, created this excellent cartoon and commentary on zoo elephants.

Dan Piraro has been a supporter of animals and animal activists for many years, even participating in local fundraisers.


Woodland Park Zoo: Less than one acre outdoors and Seattle’s climate forces elephants to be locked in small, barren barn stalls for 16 – 17 hours a day for about 7 months a year.
The Elephant Sanctuary: 2,700 acres in a sub-tropical climate.

If you believe Bamboo, Watoto, and Chai should live like elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary, please write to: Tom Rasmussen (Seattle City Council) and Deborah Jensen, (Woodland Park Zoo president): tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov, deborah.jensen@zoo.org
Or call Deborah Jensen at 206-548-2416 and Tom Rasmussen at 206-684-8808.

Banner Drop on Aurora Blvd.

Nancy has been doing banner drops with some of our wonderful volunteers since June.  They can be seen on the highway 99 overpass where zoo is located, three mornings a week.

Running concurrently is the same banner for our bus campaign that spans 6 weeks.  Look out for the buses until Oct. 8th.

• We had two demos:  IDA’s International Day for Zoo Elephants and our fourth annual Jungle Party demo.
• We leafleted at the Solstice Parade, Hempfest, and Bumbershoot giving out nearly 5,000 informational pieces.
• We visited the Zoo for the 2 pm keeper talk which yielded the information that Chai was being artificially inseminated for the 56th time – yes, you read that correctly!  Luckily they missed her cycle and hopefully they’ll miss the next one in February.  FYI, baby Hansa died from the same fatal herpes virus that Watoto had in April 2008.  It is unconscionable that the herpes-infected Zoo would risk another calf dying such a horrific death.  So unethical.
• We met with WPZ upper management this week and a range of issues were discussed. Sadly, the elephants aren’t going to the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary without a lot more work on our part.  There is reason for optimism which we’ll share in a future e-mail.

Bus Ad

As you can see, we’ve told the masses on highway 99 that the zoo is too small. Now we need a follow up banner that tells the solution:  Send elephants to Sanctuary.

If you would like to contribute to the cost of a new banner, we’d be so grateful.  Any donations over the cost of the banner will go toward printing costs of informational materials. Please help out by donating here.

New Banner - We need funds!

THANKS!

According to a press release from In Defense of Animals, the USDA has fined the Los Angeles Zoo for failing to provide veterinary care to Asian elephant Gita, who died in 2006.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has hit the Los Angeles Zoo with a stipulated penalty of $3,281 for failure to provide veterinary care in the 2006 death of the elephant Gita, according to information just provided to In Defense of Animals (IDA) by the USDA.

“It’s outrageous that the USDA took so long to come to this pathetic conclusion, especially when the L.A. Zoo’s negligence caused Gita to suffer a slow and agonizing death,” said Catherine Doyle, IDA campaign director. “The paltry fine is nothing more than a slap on the wrist for the L.A. Zoo. It’s a sad reflection on how little value is placed on the life of an endangered species like the Asian elephant.”

Gita’s death on June 10, 2006, made headlines after IDA exposed the zoo’s failure to provide veterinary care to her after she collapsed and was unable to rise. Despite being observed down on the ground overnight, zoo personnel took no action to help the elephant, who died soon after keepers discovered the ailing elephant in the morning. It was estimated that Gita lay suffering for as long as 17 hours.

For decades Gita suffered from painful chronic foot disease and arthritis caused by inadequate conditions for elephants at L.A. Zoo. Her necropsy report noted that her severe arthritis or an extremely infected abscess on her back (caused by Gita leaning against her pen to take pressure off her painful front feet and joints) may have triggered a blood clotting disorder that caused her collapse and subsequent heart failure.

You can also check out the related AP article.

Last year's Jungle Party demonstration

Your chance to say: Get the elephants out of the Zoo and into the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary!

When: Friday, July 10, 2009, 5:00 – 6:30PM
Where: Woodland Park Zoo NORTH entrance at N 59th and Evanston Ave. N., Seattle, WA

Be heard by hundreds of wealthy, influential zoo donors who will be attending Jungle Party, the Zoo’s largest fund raiser of the year.

Seattle’s Zoo is not suitable for elephants.

Our climate causes them to be locked away in cramped rooms for 17 hours a day for 7 months of the year. When they finally get outdoors, the less-than-one acre yard is inhumane for these giant, migratory animals. Lack of movement results in painful ailments only found in elephants kept in severe confinement.

Jungle Party elephant bandana

Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, invites you to join us as EVERY single donor has to drive right by us! We’ll provide signs and banners and chants asking them NOT to donate to the zoo until the elephants are released to the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary.

WHAT ELSE? A FREE elephant bandana to the first 50 people

Contact info: wpzelephants@yahoo.com

This simple yet powerful video was created in response to the Washington State Bar Association “Justice for All” YouTube video contest.

Please watch this video and rate and/or leave a comment if you have a YouTube account.

The People’s Choice winner will be the video that receives the largest number of views between April 15 and July 1, 2009. Please share this video with your friends and family.