Oldest African Elephant In American Zoo

[Luna Manar]

Hmmm...

CHICAGO (Jan. 31) AP- The memorial service was held outside, with a few mourners, bunches of flowers and a framed photo of the 55-year-old deceased, an elephant named Peaches.

Animal-welfare activists say that elephants do not belong in cold-weather zoos. 
 
She was the oldest African elephant in an American zoo when she died Jan. 17 at Lincoln Park Zoo. But her death - which came three months after a younger pachyderm named Tatima died at the zoo - has renewed complaints from animal-welfare activists that elephants do not belong in cold-weather zoos.

''Peaches and I were very good friends. I'm stunned she's dead. They're saying she died of old age, but she died of the stress of living in Chicago,'' said Ray Ryan, a former elephant keeper who cared for Peaches, Tatima and Lincoln Park's last remaining elephant, Wankie, when they lived at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Lincoln Park Zoo officials counter that the weather had nothing to do with the elephants' deaths. They say that Tatima, a 35-year-old female, died in October from a non-contagious disease similar to tuberculosis, and that tests, while not yet conclusive, indicate Peaches had kidney and heart conditions.

The three pachyderms were sent to Chicago in 2003 in a move opposed by animal activists, who warned that the elephants would suffer after enjoying the outdoors year round in warm and sunny San Diego.

Elephants in the wild - especially those in the mountains - are occasionally faced with freezing weather, and keep warm by huddling together. But most of the time, their habitat is much warmer than the winters in the northern United States. African elephants live on savannas and in woods, mountains and tropical rainforests; Asian elephants in tropical forests.

As for how long elephants can live in the wild, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association says the median lifespan for African females in the wild is 42; animal activists say that if not for poachers, elephants could live decades longer.
 
Elephants roam for miles every day in the wild, but can develop serious health problems - including arthritis, sores and infections on the pads of their feet - when confined to small spaces, often with concrete floors, during much of the winter in colder cities like Chicago, said veterinarian Elliot Katz, president of In Defense of Animals.

Peaches, Tatima and Wankie shared an outdoor yard of 13,000 square feet but were kept in a heated, 3,300-square-foot structure whenever the temperature dropped below 40 degrees, said Kelly McGrath, Lincoln Park Zoo spokeswoman.

Most zoo officials argue that elephants can be kept healthy in cold weather climates. They point out that some animal-welfare groups are opposed to zoos entirely. And they say that keeping elephants in zoos delights visitors and thereby builds vital support for programs that protect elephants in the wild.

William Foster, president of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, whose members care for about 300 elephants in North America, said some of the most successful elephant programs in the country are in northern areas - such as Toronto; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; and Syracuse, N.Y.

Foster said improvements are continually being made to better care for elephants in captivity, such as building bigger facilities and developing softer floors. A survey of 78 zoo directors found that in the next five years, 40 facilities plan to expand or build new elephant exhibits, Foster said.

''We feel elephants are under peril all over the globe, and their ultimate survival depends on us telling their story correctly,'' he said.

Several zoos, however, have recently closed their elephant exhibits.

Detroit Zoo director Ron Kagan decided last year to move its two aging, arthritic elephants to a Northern California sanctuary, where they can roam for miles and where the average high temperature in January is 58 degrees, compared with 33 in Detroit.

Elephants ''are the only animals at the zoo for which there is a great disparity between what they need and what we can provide,'' Kagan said last year.

Alaska Zoo officials have debated what to do about their African elephant, a resident since 1983 named Maggie. One solution was to build a treadmill to help her get exercise.

A zoo in a more temperate climate, the San Francisco Zoo, decided to close its exhibit after two elephants died there last year. One of the remaining elephants has been sent to the Northern California sanctuary, and the other is being patiently trained to get into a crate to be taken there, said zoo spokeswoman Nancy Chan.

The zoo will not be acquiring more elephants for some time - the city passed an ordinance requiring a 15-acre habitat for any new pachyderms.

''We want to see elephants in San Francisco someday, but only under the right conditions - in spacious, naturalistic conditions,'' Chan said.

At Lincoln Park Zoo, the elephant exhibit is also being closed, at least temporarily. Because the animals crave companionship, Wankie cannot be left permanently on her own, and will be sent someplace else within the next few months.

Eventually, the zoo will decide whether to bring in a new group of elephants.

In the meantime, Wankie is being kept company by her trainers, who are giving her more exercise and more time to play with toys. They also brought in a television to keep her entertained, but she quickly grew bored with it.

This is an interesting issue to me. What do you think?

[okapi_07]

I believe it is ok to keep elephants in colder climates if they do have large indoor facilities. Columbus expanded their facilities a few years ago. They used to keep many species in their pacyderm house with a large indoor viewing area. They gutted th building and it now houses only 3 black rhinos and 4 Asian elephants in much larger facilities with a much smaller guest area so they have plenty of room in colder months. They also added a new outdoor yard 10 times the size of the old one, and now a few months ago they expanded the old yard so the elephants have two outdoor areas (since a new bull was born this past year and wont be able to be kept with his father). They are even thinking of sending the two females from Detroit to Columbus to expand the heard and give them more room.
If they have adequate housing, they can be kept in any climate that has at least a few months with warm weather.

Most indoor facilities do have cement floors though. Finding new softer flooring would definatly benefit the elephants as they like to walk almost constantly.

[Wolfyu]

Seeing as the oldest age an elephant could possibly live to naturally (considering their teeth sets) is probably about sixty-five, I wouldn't say that the cold climate had much to do with the elephant's death.

I agree with Okapi about the indoor facilities. All of the Kansas City Zoo's elephants have free range of indoor and outdor facilities as they like...('cept for in the winter, of course)

[jwa1107]

Lincoln Park is AZA accredited. I know for a fact that the AZA will not allow animals to live in unsatisfactory conditions and has even moved animals due to climate reasons. AZA determined it was too hot in the summer here for red pandas so they are now on "permanent loan" to Santa Barbara.

This sound similar to the issue at the Alaska Zoo with their one elephant. Not only is it cold up there, but the elephant area is very small and the elephant (an instinctive herd animal) is all alone. This is one of the reasons the Alaska Zoo is not AZA accredited.

[Jay]

That article is not written well (and probably not researched well either). What are the median ages for captive elephants in various regions? Why weren't the Alaska Zoo officials questioned about the companionship issue? What are the median exhibit sizes in various zoos? Is there a statistical correlation between ages and exhibit sizes or ages and temperatures? The article is just a mishmash of statements. Since San Francisco is also in northern California, how does it relate to the sanctuary? Where is the sanctuary? Why is the term "northern zoos" used when the top California border is further north than Chicago? Although San Diego has a more moderate climate than Chicago, it still gets extremely cold there in fall and winter, especially at night.

Although the article is not written well, it does touch on some points that I believe have some validity. I used to live in Erie, Pennsylvania which is known for its snow, ice, and below freezing temperatures. At the time, I could easily wear short sleeves in even slightly above freezing temperatures and wear just sweaters in slightly below freezing temperatures. Now I live in Florida. When the temperature falls to 74 degrees, my body shakes and I need a sweater. At 70, I need a coat. Without one, my heart beats faster and my chest has pains. My situation might be rare, but I can easily imagine how some elephants might have a similar situation, especially as they get older. So I think keepers should be careful about moving animals to colder environments, especially older animals.

I believe concrete floors can cause problems as well. Even in humans, studies have shown that joggers on concrete and pavement develop more leg injuries and compressed leg bones as compared to non-joggers.

I do not believe that the issues concerning building space are understood properly. In my case, I find that closing interior doors helps me when temperatures are colder outside, even when the interior temperatures do not change. I think it is minimizing airflow, even though that airflow cannot be perceived. So I would suspect that smaller building space is better for elephants during colder exterior temperatures, but bigger building space is better for them during hotter exterior temperatures.

Similarly, I do not believe that the issues concerning exterior space is understood properly. I think it is a matter of individual animal preferences. SeaWorld has a number of dolphin areas in the park. One of the areas was for the show dolphins (when they do dolphin shows, which they are not at this time). There is a huge tank in the front and a number of very small tanks in the back. After the show, the trainers would open all of the gates and let the dolphins swim where they wanted. All but 2 of the dolphins would go to the smallest tank and swim together in a small circle the rest of the day. 2 dolphins would swim in the huge tank in the front, and take advantage of the whole tank. Even though individual animals will have different preferences, I think having a bigger exterior area is better for them. That gives them a choice of using the entire area or just a small portion of it.

I believe the problems concerning a lack of movement are not related to smaller areas. I believe it is caused by the animals not needing to forage for food. Some zoos will try hiding food in different places. But I believe this does not help enough. Treadmills might be an answer. But, in order to get animals to use such things, keepers might need to use such things themselves (assuming there is a connection between the animals and their keepers).

[okapi_07]

I'm rather surprised at the AZA regulations for elephant spaces in zoos, I'd expect them to be much larger than they are
I can't remember the exact size regulations for outdoor areas but if I remember correctly, the Columbus Zoo's main yard excedes 10 times that size and it isn't really all that large compared to some facilities I've seen

and Jay is right, there isn't very much info in this article
what about all the other factors in elephant facilities besides size and location? diet? medical care? there are many other factors not taken into consideration