Zoos, activists debate elephant living space--USA Today 8/25/2007
In the nearby elephant barn, Watoto stretches her trunk to a net filled with vegetation and munches on her lunch before wandering back to the outdoor exhibit. Teenagers watch her, mimicking the movements of her trunk.
Zoos showcase such scenes as evidence of the healthy and happy experience of their elephants. Animals rights groups dismiss such enclosures as woefully small and harmful to the health of creatures they say are meant to roam vast wildernesses.
Across the country, some zoos are bowing to pressure from animal rights groups and shipping their elephants to sanctuaries, while others build larger enclosures to ward off criticism about the animals' living conditions.
Since 2000 some zoos, including Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco, have given up elephants entirely, conceding the animals need too much space and money to maintain. Other zoos are following suit, with no plans to replace aging animals after they die.
In Alaska, publicity about Maggie, the lone elephant at Anchorage's zoo, prompted the board to agree earlier this year to send her south. Seven zoos in warmer climates are vying for the 25-year-old elephant.
Officials at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, took a different tack. They are planning a new elephant space for 2009 that will give Stephanie and Cynda, their female African elephants, and up to five new elephants 3.6 acres to roam. At California's Oakland Zoo, four African elephants wander more than five acres of habitat, the result of a $100,000 expansion. And the Los Angeles Zoo poured $39 million into a new six-acre habitat.
Such changes don't satisfy some animal rights activists, who argue elephants belong in the wild or in much bigger sanctuaries.
"The zoos are knowingly acting irresponsibly in keeping the elephants on surfaces and spaces totally inadequate for them because they don't want to lose their biggest attractions," said veterinarian Elliot M. Katz, president of In Defense of Animals.
Zookeepers see the criticism from animal rights groups as a thinly veiled campaign to eventually close zoos entirely by attacking their most popular and iconic attractions.
"The people who really care about animals are in zoos," said Bruce Bohmke, deputy director of Woodland Park Zoo. "And we are constantly challenged to find a way to make zoos better."
So, how much space do elephants need?
Most zoo directors maintain it's not the size of the exhibit but the quality of care and the use of space that matters. Some zoo officials use Woodland Park Zoo as a positive example because they say its layout maximizes an acre of land for three elephants.
"We still get visitors who can't find the elephants," Bohmke said. "It's a very long acre."
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums requires at least 400 square feet of indoor space and 1,800 square feet, about the size of six parking spaces, to house an elephant.
"We felt and we continue to feel that space is very arbitrary," Mike Keele, deputy director of the Oregon Zoo and chair of the association's elephant advisory group. "What is really important is the animal's condition and if they are behaving normally."
Animal rights activists argue the creatures need far more space. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has 2,700 acres for 23 elephants and the Performing Animal Welfare Society's California sanctuary has 75 acres for eight elephants. There are about 43,560 square feet in an acre.
Elephants in the wild can travel dozens of miles in a day, but zoos cite studies showing that they don't need to roam as much if they have enough food, water and companionship.
"In the wild they are trying to find food, they're foraging. You do get the trade-off in zoos of not needing to forage, so then do they really need that much space?" said Ted Friend, an animal science professor at Texas A&M University who focuses on determining optimum living environments for animals.
Many animal rights organizations argue minimal exercise and hard concrete floors cause arthritis and gruesome foot problems. In Defense of Animals conducted a study of member medical records for the Association of Zoos and Aquarium and found more than 60% of elephants in zoos suffer from foot problems.
Zoo officials contend those problems are the lingering results of zoo practices from decades ago.
"Fifty years ago we didn't know what concrete surfaces would do to an elephant's feet," Bohmke said. "It's a constant learning process."
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7 comments:
Just cover the area that they are stabled and roaming on with one inch oak plank and you will not have any foot problems. The oak wood acts like a mild sand paper and helps keep the pads trimmed, and of course the oak keeps a dryness and natural heat. And I am not a zoologist, just been there and done that. No big deal and it works. Amazing.
Johnny,
I will have to quick go out to shows and and look and see that wood in action. Is it like what the Knie Circus uses. I remember seeing it on Ringling a couple of times over the years. I just didn't realize it was used that much. Thanks.
Wade
When I worked with Bertha and Tina at the Nugget in Nevaga, they housed the elephants on wood in the barn. This to keep them off the cold floor in winter and Bertha had cronic foot problems. The wood in combination with the heaters in the barn had the effect of drying the feet to extremes and caused a cracking and soar foot problem. This caused much more work in keeping the nails and feet moist to overcome the cracking.
In the wild elephants walk on many different substraights. Walking in search of food wears down the pads. In captivity we trim them. In the wild they trim their nails on rocks and trees. In captivity we trim them. So what are we learning here? How do we determine how much space is enough or not enough. Every animal has different needs.
Darryl,
Because of the heat issue you can't disregard the wood. How much heat, where was it directed, how much ventilation was adequate. I can't even imagine much heat needed in Nevada.
To answer you second comment, in regards to what they do in the wild, I will reference you to horses. Horses in the wild don't wear shoes, and have no hoof care done, and have virtually zero foot/leg problems. Domesticated horses, are shod and have regular hoof care, and have a multitude of foot/leg problems, some of it attributed to breeding a smaller foot, much of it attributed to concussion and hoof angle, and shoeing.
Wade
This was in Sparks out side of Reno. Pretty cold in the winter. Heaters up by roof blowing out and down. Wild animals seem to do fine until man becomes involved. LOL
Darry,
I have monitored heat controls through many a bad winter, as I grew tired of explaining comfortable for the animal was not the same as comfortable for the humans working with them.
If there was ever a study done on felines kept in a "chill off" building in the winter, and felines in an unheated, uninsulated beast wagon with "straw to snuggle in" what do you suppose they would find. If you took 13-15 year old animals that had spent their life in the "chill off" enviornment, and but them in the unheated, uninsulated beast wagons would you expect problems with those old animals? When is space not the most important consideration?
Wade
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