(USA) the death of Hansa

[Guest guest]

Our Seattle zoo had the shocking news a few days ago that the darling of all,

the first captive born elephant in its history, died at the age of 6 1/2 years.

A very contentious debate has started about keeping elephants with both sides

digging further into their positions. However, perhaps there is hope for real

change now. The below is one editorial by a former zoo director. Please scroll

down for further comments.

 

Hansa's short life one of deprivation

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/319364_hansa12.html

 

 

Last updated June 11, 2007 4:55 p.m. PT

By DAVID HANCOCKS

GUEST COLUMNIST

 

The death of baby elephant Hansa undoubtedly will be a time of mourning for the

staff at Woodland Park Zoo and for many of its visitors. It should also be a

time for reflection.

 

There is a defining line in every life, something that gives an insight into the

heart and soul of the life lived. For me, Hansa's short life is characterized by

her being beaten by keepers at Woodland Park Zoo when she was just a few months

old. She is now being described as " beloved " by the zoo's CEO, Deborah Jensen,

and they are calling her " a little princess. " I am not convinced that the words

accurately align with the zoo's actions.

 

When baby Hansa was being struck with the vile weapon known as an ankus -- the

long-handled stick with a sharp pointed hook used in all circuses and many zoos

including Woodland Park -- the zoo's deputy director, Bruce Bohmke, dismissed

public concerns, claiming that punishments were " appropriate. " Many elephant

keepers maintain a traditional view that " discipline " and " control " are

necessary.

 

Zoo managers and keepers who defend physical punishment claim it is justified

because elephants in the wild discipline subordinate members of the herd with

physical punishment and aggression. Perhaps that's why Bruce Upchurch, the zoo's

mammal curator, endorsed the recent practice of chaining Woodland Park's

elephants by their legs for 14 hours every night, of hitting them upon

resistance and using a block and tackle to enforce crouching on command.

 

Joyce Poole, a research scientist who has studied elephants in the wild for

several decades, says discipline is not natural in elephant society and is not

something that an elephant can understand.

 

In a keynote presentation to the Elephant Managers Association annual conference

in 2001 -- the same year Bohmke defended and approved baby Hansa being struck

many times over many days with an ankus -- Poole expressed her frustration at

the false belief that discipline was necessary or appropriate for elephants,

specifically stating that they " do not discipline their young. "

 

Poole said, " I have no idea how this myth was started, but I have never seen

(wild) calves 'disciplined.' Protected, comforted, cooed over, reassured and

rescued, yes, but punished, no. Elephants are raised in an incredibly positive

and loving environment. If a younger elephant, or in fact anyone in the family,

has wronged another in some way, much comment and discussion follows. Sounds of

the wronged individual being comforted are mixed with voices of reconciliation. "

 

The history of elephants in zoos is full of mental and physical pain. Zoo

elephants have traditionally endured difficult and lonely lives, shipped around

indiscriminately, bored out of their minds, locked in cramped and sterile

quarters, invariably chained for long periods and often beaten. Today, zoos

routinely confine their elephants in spaces much too small, although Bohmke says

that that " the space issue's kind of a red herring ... (it) doesn't mean much to

me. "

 

Well, space certainly means a great deal to elephants. Compared with most

animals, including primates, ungulates, carnivores, reptiles and birds,

elephants spend the vast majority of their time -- 20 hours of every 24 -- in

movement. Their size and great physical vigor means they must have opportunity

for sustained physical movement and, thus, very large and very complex spaces.

 

Following Hansa's premature death, Woodland Park Zoo is already planning to

breed a replacement. Zoos claim that they must breed elephants to " save " them.

In truth, zoos breed elephants principally because baby elephants guarantee huge

attendance increases. If zoos truly wanted to save elephants they would be

enthusiastically dedicating their passion, energy and resources to protecting

wild elephant habitats.

 

Considering what Hansa's mother endured when she was shipped to Dickerson Park

Zoo for mating -- a beating with ax handles allegedly lasting for an hour, and

so severe that the USDA declared it abusive and fined the zoo for it -- I

shudder when I read that the zoo is planning to produce more elephants.

 

The zoo birthing process itself is characteristically horrible, with the mother

usually chained in place with her legs stretched apart, kept completely separate

from her elephant companions. It is all so completely different from what

happens in the wild, where an elephant will give birth surrounded by her female

relatives, enthusiastically assisted and encouraged by them all, and where the

baby is born into a world of great love and affection, welcomed by a family from

whose members she will never be separated except by death.

 

It is revealing and distressing that the zoo says Hansa " usually " slept with her

mother. In the wild, baby elephants are never more than a couple of feet away

from their mother for many years. They do not sleep with mom only " usually. "

They are in almost permanent contact, always touching and, in elephant fashion,

embracing one another 24 hours of every day.

 

A baby elephant who is sometimes forced to sleep alone, or who is disciplined

with blows from an ankus, cannot be described, as Kelly Helmick, the zoo's

director of animal health, put it, as " definitely a little spoiled. " That sort

of thinking is based upon a zoo perspective. Hansa may have been " spoiled " by

comparison with what happens to baby elephants in some other zoos. But compared

with what she would have experienced in the wild, her short life was one of

deprivation, tainted by discipline and abusive control, and marked by social and

environmental inadequacy.

 

At this time of deep sadness I hope that Woodland Park Zoo will take time to

reflect upon what has happened to date and contemplate what it could best do in

the future. If there is deep love for elephants at the zoo, for example, it will

send the badly abused elephant Bamboo to a sanctuary. The system of control

under the Upchurch and Bohmke regime has changed Bamboo from one of the

sweetest-natured, liveliest, brightest and most cooperative elephants I ever met

to one suffering the stereotypical symptoms of a distressed being and branded as

" dangerous. "

 

I sincerely also hope that the zoo will not pursue its breeding program. Few

baby elephants survive in zoos anyway: Only 17 from the last 37 zoo births. And

they enter a world and a life that is inherently inadequate.

 

I have always maintained, even when I was director at Woodland Park from the

mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, that zoos should aim to put themselves out of

business. They certainly can put themselves out of the business of keeping their

small groups of elephants in their small zoo exhibit spaces: a situation that I

am convinced is cruel and unnecessary. Pursuit of this goal at Woodland Park

would be a wonderful and fitting way to honor the short life of baby Hansa.

 

 

 

--

 

David Hancocks lives in Melbourne, Australia.

 

© 1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

 

 

Other articles: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/319351_elephed.html

 

 

Below comments by a local animal advocate, Ellen Leach . ellenleach,

who used to work at the zoo:

 

Statistics for captive elephants' longevity has been quite grim, though it has

improved somewhat in recent years (older practices of elephant care and exhibit

design were even worse than now--truly barbaric) . It's my opinion that

elephants still fare worse than many other species in captivity.

 

It's curious about the colic in this group. Back in the early to mid-80's when

I was on the crew and they were in the old really awful exhibit (but taken out

for walks on grounds) colic was rare for them. In the six yrs I worked with them

back then--in the crummy, grassless exhibit--, I know of only one instance of

colic in the group (in Watoto, the African) and it was gone in one afternoon.

The vet at that time give her something to relax her--valium or something

similar. (Watoto is more nervous by nature that the 3 Asian here, which is

pretty typical of African elephants.)

I've wondered over the years whether the more frequent colic in this herd is

stress-based, esp with the handling styles that they've endured. And also I know

of an African elephant at the National Zoo who colicked regularly when she lived

alone. When she got to live with the other elephants there (who were Asian), her

colic disappeared. So there can be factors other than what the elephant

ingested. Still, sand and dirt ingestion can definitely cause problems

 

Poor Hansa could well have been pretty stressed as a young calf--confined w/

her mom in the " electric playpen " (the display room with electrified chains

hanging vertically all around at the top) for so many hours/ days with minimal

enrichment. And she was handled inconsistently--one minute it was ok for her to

play with the hose or the food tub, the next minute she'd be reprimanded/hit for

it, then it might be ok again the next time. Back and forth. Ellen

 

published letters below:

 

Letters to the Editor

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003743562_tuelets12.html

 

Thoughts on Hansa

Don't start blaming

 

Editor, The Times:

 

I am deeply saddened by Hansa's passing [ " Seattle zoo's beloved young elephant

dies, " Page One, June 9].

 

Even just the thought of her could put a smile on my face. Now there's just

sadness. And the sadness is magnified by the idiotic animal-rights activists who

are immediately trying to place blame.

 

Hansa would not have even been born had it not been for the efforts of the

zoo. The elephant barn and forest at the Woodland Park Zoo are wonderful and I

have no doubts that Hansa and her fellow elephants were treated with the utmost

of care.

 

The zoo staff is mourning one of their family members. IDA, PETA and all the

rest of the radical animal-rights activists — back off.

 

— Nancy E. Phillips, Seattle

 

Stop breeding

 

While many of us are still shocked and saddened by Hansa's death, I read in

disbelief that the zoo has again tried to impregnate Chai for another baby

elephant but " ... zoo officials won't know until later this month whether Chai

is pregnant. " [ " Elephant's remains cremated, " Local News, June 10]

 

I hope she is not. I hope that little Hansa's death will not be in vain. It is

time to stop this breeding program madness. Impregnating poor Chai is so

unnatural and disturbing.

 

Let's not have history repeat itself at Woodland Park Zoo.

 

— Claudine Erlandson, Shoreline

 

When people care, elephants benefit

 

Thank you for your reporting on the loss of Hansa.

 

Unlike other media, you gave minimal voice to Maria French. Northwest Animal

Rights Network is on the fringe, their data invalid, their statements about

inadequate care of elephants at Woodland Park Zoo, baseless.

 

Hansa's death is sad. She was charming and as ambassador for her species she

brought attention to the plight of wild elephants. The Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is meeting this month.

Elephant ivory will be high on the agenda.

 

Why? Because people care. Millions of people start to care when they visit WPZ

and watch delightful creatures like Hansa. If people don't care, we will lose

all elephants, everywhere.

 

Despite their grief, staff at WPZ will maintain superb care of all their

animals. Animals sometimes get sick and die, even young ones.

 

For anyone to imply it was anybody's fault is disgusting. Tell us about the

thousands who have been inspired by the zoo to take positive action for nature.

 

If you must include statements from NARN, put them in a tiny sidebar to

reflect the minority nature of their views.

 

— Priscilla Allen, Seattle

 

An unnatural life

 

The way I see it, we humans subjected those elephants to unnatural lives. We

were responsible for breaking up their families, separating them from friends,

and keeping them in incredibly reduced and unnatural conditions all their lives

for nothing more important than our own entertainment.

 

Poor little Hansa wouldn't have died in vain if Woodland Park Zoo were

actually to learn something: Elephants have lives and purposes all their own,

and should all be released to a sanctuary to live natural lives, which include

extensive roaming over hundreds of acres, and loving, long-lasting bonds between

family and friends.

 

— Franziska Edwards, Seattle