L.A., was my first thought as well. Another possibility could be Oregon. With Elephant Lands opening with enlarged facilities and yards, they could certainly take on the two ladies.
I'm really unfamiliar with the Woodland Park Zoo so I don't have much to say about this but I'm glad they won't be split up, I'm glad they are going to another AZA facility instead of being sent to one of the so called "sanctuaries." Hopefully wherever they go Chai gets a breeding attempt, because I have been told that the best form of stimulation you can give a group of Elephant ladies is the chance to raise a calf. That is all.
I'm stunned by the news as fairly recently the zoo publicly endorsed maintaining an elephant exhibit and now the decision has been made to go in the other direction. As a long-time visitor to the zoo I predicted that the elephant program would be phased out years ago on this site, but here is a synopsis of my personal opinion. 1- On one hand it pains me that Seattle will no longer have elephants as I've spent half my life visiting the facility a few times each year and it seems odd for such a well-respected zoo to phase out what is arguably the #1 most notable zoo animal. I live near Vancouver, Canada, and the Greater Vancouver Zoo phased out its elephants over a decade ago along with the Alaska Zoo above British Columbia. In the next Province, Calgary Zoo sent its elephants away and Edmonton's Valley Zoo will no longer have elephants when its aging, solitary female dies. Woodland Park will soon be elephant-less and Tacoma's Point Defiance Zoo also announced plans to phase out elephants once one of their remaining two dies. As a zoo nerd it pains me that my own kids won't have elephants anywhere near them; the closest establishment with elephants will be Oregon Zoo in Portland and that is 5-6 hours south of where I live. Maybe every 5 years my wife and I will load up the family minivan and head south but elephant sightings will be few and far between. 2- On the flip side I think that in terms of animal welfare the bold decision to no longer exhibit elephants in Seattle should be applauded. There is now an extremely long list of northern zoos that have ended their elephant programs and an equally long list of southern zoos that have expanded their elephant programs and that is how it should be. Woodland Park's AZA award-winning Elephant Forest was built 25 years ago and the habitat is simply too small in the modern world of exhibit design. Having both African and Asian elephants together (before Watoto's death) for many years was absurd; the small barn is clearly inadequate; the climate and annual rainfall is a factor; the dynamics of the "herd" have not been acceptable for a decade or longer; and I support the notion of sending the remaining two elephants away to another AZA-accredited facility. If Woodland Park had the resources and space to build a 3-acre complex with a large herd of elephants then I would have been delighted, but at a cost of $50 million that was never likely and this decision has been hinted at for a very long time. The only surprise is that the zoo has backtracked on their initial mindset to maintain elephants in the collection but all good things sometimes come to an end.
I favour this option as it will mean LA Zoo will finally be able to demonstrate those sucking leeches of PETA that they can do the business and set up a fledging breeding herd! Portland, Oregon ... allthough being a foremost breeding center for Asiatics, I would actually hope not ...
Audubon Zoo has indicated that they want to get at least more elephant to join their elderly girls. If breeding isn't a primary motivator, that could be an option. Though, I think the new enclosure is only an acre in size (or was that the barn only?). It might be considered too small given the current situation.
In terms of welfare I disagree that the climate should be a major determinant factor when deciding whether or not to phase out an elephant program. Unless say in the case of the Alaska Zoo where their lone elephant was unable to go outside for more than half the year. Northern zoos can successfully maintain elephants given the proper facilities. At the Cleveland Zoo, a new shade structure was installed with a built in heater providing the elephants with access to the large Savanna Range on the coldest days. This is in addition to a heated off-exhibit night range. Yes, I realize WPZ is not as modern as Cleveland's exhibit, but some of these changes could be quick, inexpensive modifications. Elephants are a lot more tolerant to cold than people think, and having been to Africa and seen elephants in the wild where I was extremely cold the elephants do quite well. Addo Elephant National Park has a cold and rainy climate in the winter months June-August (N. Hemisphere summer) with a population of 500 elephants. I would assume it to be a similar climate to the Pacific Northwest, which can be rainy and cool especially in the winter months. Given the proper facilities I do not think climate should deter zoos from exhibiting elephants. Also, I do not find it problematic to have African with Asian elephants given they are getting along well, as this was common practice years ago when Watoto was brought to WPZ. However, in terms of the social structure at WPZ, I agree it was much less than ideal prior to Watoto's death. If I remember correctly they had to rotate Watoto and Bamboo on the exhibit because they were incompatible with one another? Anyways I think it is a shame they are phasing out their elephant exhibit as elephants really are one of the most charismatic animals. Its a shame to me that the Seattle community showed so much activism against the keeping of elephants and it seems WPZ does not have the same community support many other zoos have from what I have read, although those more familiar with WPZ probably know better than myself. I personally haven't been, but it is a shame as from what I hear and have seen it is a wonderful zoo.
I was at Addo National Park last week. The climate is basically just like Seattle. Cold and rainy... Knysna elephants live in Afromontane Forest too, which is pretty similiar to Pacific Temperate Rainforest, minus a day or two of snow. I would think with the proper barn and exhibit, elephants should be able to thrive in Seattle.
I didn't get that there was a decision to "no longer exhibit elephants," but rather that they decided not to invest in an expanded elephant program at this time. The announcement left the door open to bring elephants back should they choose. Woodland Park Zoo announces plans to relocate elephants
In other reports it was stated they would look to re-purpose the exhibit "for other Asian animal species." Elephants are history in Seattle....
The average high temp in Cleveland in December, January and February is in the 30s (F). Avg number of days below freezing in those months is at least 20 each month. Record lows are -15 to -20. Somehow I think there is no heater big enough.
Could they perhaps go to Columbus? That's a nice elephant habitat. Why didn't they just move them before Watoto died? Watoto could have went to Cleveland. I hope that Bamboo and Chai don't go to Oregon or Audubon. Knowing WPZ, they'll probably end up going to Dickerson Park. Hopefully it will be Denver, Columbus or National Zoo.
I'm hoping they opt for a larger-scale reinterpretation of the space rather than simply tossing a Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros in there, swapping out sign placards and calling it a day. I'm probably too much of a dreamer...
What else could they do? The elephants aren't being sent away for a season. Should the zoo decide to spend say $10+million on the exhibit to expand it and, if necessary, the barn then elephants could return.
They should build a Nocturnal House on the elephant yard's site. I agree about the rhinos; they shouldn't just move Indian rhinos in there and call it a day.
I would prefer if they did not go to the National Zoo. With the seven elephants they have now, I think anymore would make it a little too crowded. Plus they are still working slowly introducing the two herds together so to add another one may not be in their best interest. I just hope they don't end up in a zoo with a mediocre exhibit that needs another elephant or two.
Unless there is a dramatic shift in public opinion (from the city's Mayor on down), I think it is extremely unlikely that Woodland Park Zoo's leadership would have any interest in reviving the massive distraction to their mission that a resumed elephant program would trigger. In, say, Dallas, Columbus or Oklahoma City it would be one thing...but in Seattle quite another.
Well I can't foresee what the coming decade(s) will bring, but I suspect that if anti-zoo forces succeed in eliminating elephants from their zoos then it is a matter of time until they succeed in their larger goal of eliminating zoos altogether. Zoos are relinquishing the conversation and it will cost them dearly.
I wholeheartedly agree. Whether it is the yearly protest outside the front gates, the recent USDA report that criticized the zoo's night-time handling of elephants, the badly antiquated barn, the lack of media support, the non-stop indecision about the future of the elephants, the demographic/educational background of the city of Seattle, or the rampant negativity that has occurred since the death of the African elephant Watoto...who needs all that bad publicity? I've been saying for years that Woodland Park was likely to phase out elephants and the only real surprise is the fact that 2013's "Elephant Task Force" decided to change its mind from its initial decision to keep them. At the end of the day there is a very long list of northern zoos that no longer have elephants as locating animals is not easy with the declining captive population, plus not many zoos have $40-50 million to create modern, multi-acre exhibits. Even if Woodland Park raised $10 million to enhance the current exhibit, in what would surely be a band-aid solution, I would estimate that the possibility of the zoo deciding to once again maintain elephants would be very slim indeed. All of us North American zoo nerds will have to cherish the numerous southern zoos that have built fantastic new exhibits and take solace in that fact.
I'm not seeing that zoos are relinquishing the conversation. Seattle is a unique case where they had an exhibit that was state-of-the-art 25 years ago, but now is substandard. They don't have the room to build a truly modern exhibit, and they have a climate that is marginal for elephants at best. There are plenty of examples where anti-elephant protestors have made their case and been rebuffed, even in socially liberal areas that one would think would be their natural constituencies. In LA the anti-elephant crowd made a lot of noise and trotted out a bunch of celebrities to try and get rid of elephants at the LA Zoo and instead they got a huge new modern elephant exhibit.
An aside, why do new exhibits cost so much? What is it about construction of new habitats that is so pricy? What is the most expensive part of building a new Elephant exhibit?
