Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wankie--Does anyone know anything about this bull elephant named Wankie?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

please tell us more Wade?
very best
Jim Stockley

Anonymous said...

This came up on a search, but it was a female elephant:


Wankie Dies After Collapsing en Route to Hogle Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo's last surviving elephant, Wankie, was destroyed on May 1 after arriving at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. Wankie reportedly collapsed in Nebraska during transport from Chicago. The zoo moved her before waiting to hear the verdict of the upcoming May 12 Chicago City Council's Parks & Recreation Committee hearing. Council members were set to vote on a well-supported resolution calling for Wankie to go to a sanctuary and for the zoo to permanently close its elephant exhibit. PETA suspects that a rushed exit strategy did not allow for adjustment to the travel crate. A stressed Wankie may have been tranquilized for the 1,400-mile journey, which could have contributed to her collapse and breathing problems about halfway through the trip. When elephants go down, they must be helped upright within an hour or two or their weight crushes their internal organs. In this case, a decision was made to keep on driving with Wankie down.

Anonymous said...

There's a Wankie National Park in Zimbabwe. Probably where your Wankie originated from.