Time to let captive elephants go

[Guest guest]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/293202_bambooed.html

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

 

Captive Elephants: Time to let go

 

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

 

Trendy as Seattle is, the city may have a hard time getting its head around

an emerging idea at zoos. Some of the nation's biggest zoos are letting

their elephants go.

 

Given the space constraints at Woodland Park Zoo, officials here ought to

consider the same approach. Unless elephant habitat expansion beyond the

current acre becomes a greater priority here than it seems to be, the zoo

will have an increasingly hard time defending its keeping of Earth's largest

land animals.

 

Woodland Park is a leader in many fields of animal care, especially in

providing more naturalistic habitat. That includes habitat for elephants,

which received a new facility in 1989. The zoo, moreover, has been a real

force in the captive breeding of elephants.

 

Woodland Park says research shows other factors, such as an interesting

environment, not space, are the keys. But space must mean something. Other

zoos are either increasing exhibit size (Oakland, Calif., San Diego and

Tampa, Fla.) or closing exhibits (Detroit, San Francisco and Chicago).

 

Earlier this month, Philadelphia's zoo decided to send three of its

elephants to Baltimore's zoo and the fourth to the Elephant Sanctuary in

Tennessee, one subject of a P-I Focus section article Sunday about the

stresses on the highly social animals worldwide. Nationally, zoos reportedly

are working to consolidate captive elephant herds in larger social groups at

fewer facilities while focusing on breeding. Woodland Park has breeding

expertise, dedicated elephant keepers and leadership.

 

Without more elephant space, though, the zoo faces big questions. The zoo's

idea of its elephants serving as ambassadors to people would make more sense

if the exhibit honored their wild relatives' need for spacious habitat.