Jenny decision 'is final'

10:24 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2008

By WFAA-TV Staff Reports

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Brad Watson reports

August 20, 2008

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LINK: Concerned Citizens for Jenny

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DALLAS — DALLAS – "Hi Jenny!" two girls said from behind the stone wall overlooking Jenny’s cramped enclosure at the Dallas Zoo Wednesday.

Hours earlier, the zoo made a surprise statement. It cancelled a controversial plan to send her to the Africam Safari Park in Puebla, Mexico. But, the zoo refused to retire her to a sanctuary in Tennessee.

"It's not about Mexico. It's not about Tennessee,” said Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo Executive Director. “It's about not disrupting her daily routine and the care she's been getting."

When the news broke at Dallas City Hall, Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia expressed relief "that we get out of the politics and we actually think about what is best for Jenny."

The zoo will now expedite a $10 million plan to move Jenny from the small one-third of acre she resides in now into a larger four-acre exhibit.

Construction starts this fall, Hudson said, and will be complete in 15 months, which is half the time the project was supposed to take.

The Nashville Zoo’s three-acre elephant exhibit is something similar to what Dallas hopes to build.

The Dallas Zoo said it thinks it even found Jenny a female companion. While medical tests are underway and details of her move are being finalized, Hudson would not say where the companion is located now. The zoo hopes to have up to four African females living in the new enclosure once it’s complete in the spring of 2010.

But, the companion could join Jenny within a couple months, Hudson added.

"You know what, we know we're doing a great job with this elephant and we think we can continue to do that if we get the space and companionship she needs," he continued.

But for the hundreds of opponents who protested Jenny's move to Mexico, they believe the decision to keep her here is the wrong one - and their fight continues.

"The Concerned Citizens for Jenny and citizens of Dallas still believe Jenny needs to go to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee," said Margaret Morin, founder, Concerned Citizens for Jenny.

Morin and others remain confident that the sanctuary not only provides more space 9300 acres) and solitude, but also provides better rehabilitation for Jenny's documented behavioral problems including aggression.

"We'll continue with our calls,” Morin added. “We'll continue with our e-mails."

Council member Angela Hunt said she thinks the zoo switched plans because of politics.

"Frankly, the zoo was embarrassed and I think they just wanted to back down and undo any of this discussion,” she said.

News 8 talked to several council members who said there are not enough votes to override the staff decision, which appears to make it final.

But despite the zoo's best efforts, concerned citizens said their fight over Jenny's future continues as children remain in awe.