Calgary Zoo Calgary Zoo - Please reconsider the relocation of elephants - INVEST IN THEM!!

I would like to direct you to a facebook page (Calgary Elephants) and petition (thepetitionsite.com) which has been created by concerned Calgarians who are trying to persuade the zoo to consider other options. The zoo leases a 320 acre parcel of land south of the city which would be a wonderful possibility and would create one of the largest elephant environments in the world. Please consider supporting this concept, and if you feel appropriate - spread the word. Your voice should matter.

Please sign the petition and share the site!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/234/...y-zoo-reconsider-the-re-location-of-elephants

 

Calgary Zoo- Please reconsider relocation of elephants - Invest in their future!

I would like to direct you to a facebook page (Calgary Elephants) and petition (thepetitionsite.com) which has been created by concerned Calgarians who are trying to persuade the zoo to consider other options. The zoo leases a 320 acre parcel of land south of the city which would be a wonderful possibility and would create one of the largest elephant environments in the world. Please consider supporting this concept, and if you feel appropriate - spread the word. Your voice should matter.

Please sign the petition and share the site!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/234/3...n-of-elephants

 

Calgary Zoo- Please reconsider relocation of elephants - Invest in their future!

I would like to direct you to a facebook page (Calgary Elephants) and petition (thepetitionsite.com) which has been created by concerned Calgarians who are trying to persuade the zoo to consider other options. The zoo leases a 320 acre parcel of land south of the city which would be a wonderful possibility and would create one of the largest elephant environments in the world. Please consider supporting this concept, and if you feel appropriate - spread the word. Your voice should matter.

Please sign the petition and share the site!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/234/3...n-of-elephants

 

Wouldn't the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee be better?

 

It would appear not given that the first post was good enough,to post twice more in this thread and once more in another Calgary thread!

 

Ok Spike, have you ever thought about the cold Canadian weather? It's not appropiate for such large animals to be held indoors for around six months a year. An exhibit of any size or sort will not change this fact.

 

WRT the elephant sanctuaries - These areas are fantastic solutions for SOME elephants, but they are NOT the solution for all elephants. At present, they do not allow breeding - the Calgary Zoo has a female which is very young and needs to be allowed to breed, there are too few Asian elephants (less than 35 000 ANYwhere - wild or captive) to not allow this. If the Calgary Zoo has a space of several hundred acres (which rivals sanctuary space), and can also be accountable to "zoo" standards, even far exceeding them - this seems like a better solution for these elephants.

WRT the climate - While I agree that Calgary climate may not be ideal, Asian elephants are much more adaptable that people realize. In the wild, they range into countries which get snow (Nepal, Bhutan) and there is evidence of elephants traversing up mountains in snow. At Calgary, many people are surprised to realize that the elephants are outside nearly every day, by their choice. They are never forced out, but at least 90% of days, they go outside. Its actually more difficult for them to get RID of heat, as they can't pant like dogs, and have very limited sweat glands. Heat stress/stroke is actually a documented concern for Asian Elephants. If a several acre building were created, in addition to several hundred acres to roam outside with outdoor heaters available, this seems like a better solution than risking their lives in transfer and the very real possibility that they will not be accepted by another established herd. Please read the facebook site for more information and links.

 

This elephant petition they have created for the Calgary animals is ridiculous....
The zoo, not the city decided to send the elephants away.
Calgary zoo's budget and space does not allow for expansion or longterm continuation of the elephant program. Therefore the use of the lands in the offsite breeding center being developed for elephants is not realistic.
The points cited on the group's facebook page are unreasonable. Claiming that Hamburg bull Hussein's death in his transport crate (prior to departing) is enough evidence to prevent the Calgary elephant's move to more adequate facilities such as:
-The national elephant center, which should begin construction on its asian elpehant facilities in the coming months
-Los Angeles Zoo
-Oklahoma City Zoo
(other northern zoos)
-National Zoo
-Portland (upon exhibit completion next year)
-Columbus

Let the Calgary Zoological Society and AZA determine the ultimate home of the Calgary animals. As Zoo Miami is already working on doing so with Spike.

This group appears to be fairly extremist, similar to that of the ARA's lobbying the Toronto city council officials as I type this.

The cows will remain together, in an environment that is condusive to Maharani breeding.

 

Please try to be respectful - this petition is not ridiculous. The point of it is to ask the zoo to reconsider. They are saying that they do not have the space, when in truth, THEY DO. They are not claiming that they cannot support them financially.
While you are correct that the zoological society made the decision, I feel you are uninformed on some other things. The Calgary Zoo is a city-run zoo - in that the city owns the land and the buildings. The zookeepers are city workers. The Zoo leases the land, both on site and the "ranch" from the city. SO - they already have this land for use, it would not be an extra cost. They could create an elephant exhibit of several hundred acres, and an indoor space of several acres. Many zoos are investing in their elephants and finding donors for new exhibits - why not Calgary - particularly when they have that space available.
WRT the comments about Husseins death, it was not meant to imply that it is enough evidence not to transfer elephants, merely to demonstrate that transferring elephants is high risk and high stress, and each individual situation should be considered carefully. There is also no guarantee that the Calgary elephants will be accepted to another herd, introductions CAN work, but it takes a lot of time and expertise, and may never be possible. Many zoos are forced to separate elephants.

This group is not extremist. It was formed by people who care about the elephants, and feel that if Calgary DOES have the space to invest in their elephants (which is cited as the cause for transfer), then they should reconsider. They have a responsibility to those elephants which began nearly 40 years ago.

 

Being from Chicago I have experienced the loss of elephants from my home zoos. At first you think you are really going to miss them but after awhile you start to forget about them.

 

Keeping elephants in locations with regular severe winters is as ridiculous as keeping polar bears on or near the Equator, and creating a facility for them with a heated indoor space of the size that would be required would be a completley inapporpriate waste of resources that could be better applied to Endangered species that would be more appropriate for Calgary's climate and existing indoor facilities; I am sure that their current elephant house would make a better primate facility.
The risk of moving elephants is also over-blown. The main reason that European zoos have seen a moderate explosion in the number of elephant births is due to the policy of moving adult bulls routinely and not faffing about with AI, which is questionable both on animal welfare and sound species management grounds, coupled with reducing the number of holding institutions and increasing herd sizes.
One of the arguments in the Toronto case was that the decisions surrounding their elephants were made by politicians, I would hope that no such intervention is made to alter the very sensible and I am sure well thought through decision of the senior animal staff at Calgary.