Yes, it takes bold leadership on the part of the zoo to give up popular animals like elephants. But it shows they are more concerned with the welfare of the animals than they are with ticket sales.
The Detroit Zoo gave away its elephants and since then have broken their all-time attendance record on at least 4-5 occasions. It doesn't seem to matter to folks in Michigan whether or not there are now white rhinos where the elephants used to be.
i dont agree! altough the philly elephant exhibit is not the best one, in general i dont think that there are animals that are not suitble for zoos. to think that elephants are not ok, but big cats or bears or rhinos are ok is not fair.
@drzoomi - I don't think Philadelphia (or anyone on this forum) is saying that no zoos should have elephants. I think we are just saying that if you cannot build them an adequate exhibit, then it is ok not to have them and give them to a zoo that can properly house them. In fact, if you can read the very small print on the Philadelphia sign, it says that they do hope to have elephants in the future if they can build a better exhibit.
Could any of you see elephants ever returning to the Philadelphia Zoo? I've heard rumors about the possibility for years. It's interesting how some zoos are adamant elephants are never coming back (Detroit) while others are more open to potentially housing them again.
@GraysonDP I don't see it to be honest. The expense is one thing, but there will inevitably be vocal (is small) protests against it. I tend to think of Elephants as a 'once they're gone, they're gone' species for zoos these days. Which makes me worried about The Bronx..
@Cat-Man San Antonio has been vocal about wanting to bring elephants back, Nashville's open to bringing them back (with the main issue being sourcing elephants), and Brookfield's also hoping to bring them back as well. In Brookfield's case in particular, when they were asked about elephants at a master plan symposium, the panelists at the symposium said that while the zoo couldn't make any guarantees, they do have a plan in mind for bringing back elephants, even visiting several facilities and especially liking Elephant Trails at National. There is also precedent for zoos who haven't had elephants in a while bringing back elephants, as evidenced by Omaha, though that could be a case of the exception proving the rule...
@StoppableSan Thanks very much for that, very interesting. I’m glad to see there are zoos out here actively looking to bring elephants back. I would be interested to see these plans develop, especially in the case of Chicago which is in a liberal city and a northern climate. Regarding Omaha - when their elephants left was there a concrete plan to get them back, or was it more of a hopeful view like Brookfield and Phili?
