Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants

Connie and Shaba have been together at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson for 29 years—Connie was 15 and Shaba was just 2. They have been deeply bonded since the day they were first brought together.

Tearing Connie and Shaba apart is unconscionable.

Reid Park Zoo elephants

A fundamental requirement in elephants is being a bonded member of a social group.  Anyone who knows anything about elephants knows this, yet the Tucson City Council succumbed to Reid Park Zoo and voted to separate them.

Please help these elephants by filling out IDA’s form:  Click here.

It’s fast and so important.

The Toronto Zoo board has directed its staff to prepare to transfer the city’s three aging elephants to PAWS sanctuary in California by April 30, 2012. This endorses the Toronto City Council’s decision to send the elephants.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/24/zoo-to-send-elephants-to-california-reserve

Unfortunately, the elephant keepers are still resisting what’s best for the elephants by not allowing Ed Stewart from PAWS to see the elephants. Hopefully the elephant keepers will  sign on to this compassionate move so that PAWS can work with the elephants on training for their transport.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1092744

Ground-breaking initiative on animal circuses announced on Capitol Hill.

“There will be a time when people will be shocked that we ever allowed the suffering of these animals in the name of entertainment to continue so long. Elephants living in chains and being beaten; lions and tigers in small cages on trucks, being whipped to perform tricks; it’s the dark ages. This bill helps bring us out of the dark ages.”   -BOB BARKER

Visit the PAWS website to learn more

Click here to find out how you can help

Tarra’s little dog Bella has died. We hope Tarra will take comfort in the love of her elephant friends. Here is a video which made the unlikely couple famous!

The following message is from The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee…

My dear friends,

I write to you with very sad news. Tarra’s little dog Bella has died. We found her body on Wednesday and have been dealing with the aftermath ever since, trying to work out what happened while we look after Tarra and each other.

We noticed Bella was not with Tarra at breakfast on Tuesday and later that morning she still had not appeared. Tarra and Bella have always spent short periods apart as one goes off exploring briefly on their own, but this longer absence worried us deeply and a search of the property was started which continued into the next day. The search ended tragically when Bella’s body was found close to the Asia barn that had long been home to Tarra, her five sisters and Bella. During the time of the search our usually social Tarra chose to remain alone, watched over by concerned Caregivers.

Dr. Scott, our vet of sixteen years, examined Bella for the last time and, with advice from the experts from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, determined the probable cause of death was an attack by animals, most likely coyotes. We have sent off samples to see whether there were any other contributory causes.

Having carefully examined Bella’s wounds and the place where she was found, we concluded that Bella had not been attacked near where she was found and neither could she have walked there.

As these investigations were taking place observant Caregivers, even more watchful of Tarra than usual, noticed blood on the underside of her trunk, evidence that pointed us in the direction of what likely happened that fateful night.

The most probable scenario is that during the night Bella strayed from Tarra briefly and was set upon. Tarra arrived too late to save her but was able to stop further damage being done to Bella’s body. With deep sadness and deeper wonder we come to comprehend what likely happened next—that Tarra picked Bella up and carried her home.

Further evidence in support of our belief for what happened comes from Tarra herself. After Bella had been found, Caregivers ensured Tarra had every chance to inspect Bella’s body before it was buried and to come to terms with her death, as this is an important part of the grieving process for elephants. But Tarra was not interested in either Bella or the group of Caregivers who would normally have drawn our inquisitive Girl to see what was happening.

It was only later when we had pieced together the whole picture that Tarra’s behavior at Bella’s grave made sense. Our poor, brave, loving Girl knew what had happened to her beloved Bella and, in the dark hours of the night as she carried her body home, had come to terms with her death.

Tarra’s sisters will help her through her sadness. Although we cannot take away Tarra’s pain immediately or the pain of all those that knew Bella, I do know Bella knew true love and true freedom. It will always be so for animals that find Sanctuary.

Rob Atkinson
CEO

Taking strong leadership, Toronto’s (Canada) City Council voted 31– 4 to allow their elephants at Toronto’s Zoo to live out their lives at PAWS Sanctuary in California.

The Toronto City Council overruled the Zoo’s interests and used science and compassion in making their decision to choose a life that is healthiest for their elephants.

Like Toronto’s elephants, Seattle’s three elephants:  Bamboo, Chai and Watoto spend over half the year locked in a barren barn stall barely large enough to turn around.   Our elephants’ lock up lasts 16–17 hours a day with either Bamboo or Watoto in solitary confinement.

Like Toronto’s elephants, our elephants have less than one acre of outdoor space.

Like Toronto’s elephants, our elephants exhibit repetitive neurotic behaviors called stereotypies due to the trauma of captivity and crushing boredom.

Like Toronto’s elephants our elephants are very costly to house: about $400,000.00 each year.

When the Toronto Zoo looked into expanding the elephant exhibit, they discovered the costs were prohibitive.  The LA Zoo, for example, spent $42.5 million in 2009 on a 3.6 acre display—inadequate the day it opened.

Bull hook - photo from IDA

After centuries of elephant keepers in zoos beating elephants into submission and compliance, AZA requires zoos holding elephants to adopt Protected Contact management.

Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants is pleased that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has directed all zoos in their system to transition to an elephant management method called “protected contact”.  Protected contact requires that there is always a barrier between the keeper and the elephant.

Under the former method of management called “free contact”, the keeper shares the same space as the elephant.  This requires the use of the sharp pointed bullhook to protect the keeper.  Elephants under this form of management have been routinely beaten so the mere sight of the bullhook instills fear and submission.  About half of the zoos in the AZA system still uses this antiquated and cruel method but that will change by Sept. 1, 2014.

Protected contact improves the quality of life for elephants who live under the fear of the bullhook while improving the safety for those who work with elephants.

The following information is directly from the recent newsletter of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS):

When PAWS director Ed Stewart visited the City of Toronto on May 12, 2011, to present PAWS’ formal offer of free lifetime care, relocation and transportation expenses for the Toronto Zoo’s three African elephants, opposition from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums was expected.

What was not expected was the egregious misinformation disseminated by the AZA to the Toronto Zoo Board of Management and the media. This information is considered by PAWS to be not only unprofessional, but also defamatory.

PAWS realizes the AZA’s positions are not always unanimously supported by its member zoos, and because of this PAWS has worked cooperatively on behalf of captive elephants with a number of AZA accredited zoos. Thus, PAWS has provided sanctuary to elephants retired from zoos in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Alaska.

A letter from PAWS founder, and co-director, Pat Derby, has been sent to the AZA demanding a retraction of their defamatory remarks. A copy of Pat’s letter follows.

(Click the “Continue Reading” link to read Pat Derby’s Letter to the AZA)

Continue Reading »

Closing the elephant exhibit at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is within sight but what about the two elephants living there?

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium (PDZA) is holding a public comment meeting to discuss their 10-year plan which includes closing their tiny elephant exhibit – but not until poor Hanako and Suki die.

WHY WAIT for them to die? Why force them to continue to live in this physically and psychologically harmful environment?

Please come to ask (or write) that the humane decision be made. Ask for Hanako and Suki to be retired to an elephant sanctuary.

When: THIS Monday, April 25^th from 4:30 – 6pm. Come anytime!

Location:
Metro Parks Headquarters Board Room
4702 South 19^th Street
Tacoma, WA

If you can’t come: Please e-mail the zoo at:  strategicplan@pdza.org

Or snail mail: Attention Strategic Plan, 5400 North Pearl St. Tacoma, WA 98407
You can also join their facebook page and leave comments supporting the end to the elephant exhibit. https://www.facebook.com/PtDefianceZoo

To be most effective, be polite and thoughtful.

The Elephant Sanctuary has posted a great message of support for Lily Tomlin and other celebrities who use their resources to help those in need. In this case, elephants who are suffering in a life of confinement.

I always enjoy hearing how celebrities use their fame and money to give back. It’s even better when the celebrity is a fellow Michigander, like Lily Tomlin.

Tomlin has chosen to devote her spare time in a crusade against elephants in captivity. And on January 20th, she will speak on behalf of the new documentary Elephants and Man: A Litany of Tragedy. The film covers the history of elephants in captivity and exposes the cruelty that is at the center of this history. You can watch the film on YouTube, split into seven segments, but prepare yourself for the graphic content.

Throughout the years, Tomlin has spoken out against zoos housing elephants. She fought against the $42 million enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo, championed a quest to relocate an elephant at the Dallas Zoo, and has joined the battle to urge Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo to remove their three elephants.

Read the full story on elephants.com

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports on a tragic death of a zoo elephant keeper at the Knoxville Zoo.

Photo from knoxnews.com

Stephanie James didn’t need to die.  If the Knoxville Zoo used protected contact which means that there is always a barrier between the elephant and keeper, James would be alive today.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) which accredits zoos abrogated their responsibility by not requiring protected contact as a condition for accreditation. Protected contact is used in only about half of AZA accredited zoos.

However looking at the bigger picture:  It’s time for humans to understand that we can’t take a highly intelligent and social animal like an elephant and deprive it of all that is instinctual.  If the public knew what it takes to dominate an 8,000 pound elephant they would be appalled.  Edie’s reaction to decades of dominance, severe confinement, lack of space and sensory deprivation is not surprising – about 1 elephant keeper a year is killed in zoos and circuses.

The answer to saving keeper lives is to not display elephants in zoos in the first place.

Read the full story here