http://www.elephants.com/media/Time_6_12_06.htm
Are Zoos Killing Elephants?
June 12, 2006
Time
By Jeanne McDowell/Los Angeles
The death of a beloved pachyderm in Los Angeles intensifies the growing pressure on zoos to rethink their animal exhibits
Original Article
She was the grand old lady of the Los Angeles Zoo, beloved by employees and millions of Angelenos who periodically flocked to the zoo to visit her. But when Gita, a 48-year-old Asian elephant, was found dead in her enclosure Saturday morning, tears were mixed with anger on the part of those who had been expressing concerns over Gita's health and the well-being of two other elephants living at the zoo.
"I said I would not be surprised if Gita was dead in six months," says veterinarian Mel Richardson, who testified last September before city officials who were considering the since-approved $39 million plan to improve the L.A. Zoo's elephant exhibit. "It's been nine months. Gita had osteomyelitis in her toes and was losing bones in her feet. She was in pain daily." Richardson, a former veterinarian for the San Antonio and Woodland Park zoos, had not examined Gita but had reviewed hundreds of pages of her medical records secured under the California open records law by In Defense of Animals, a California-based organization that had been fighting to have Gita moved to an elephant sancturary.
In fact, Gita has been at the center of a contentious debate over whether the L.A. Zoo should continue to exhibit elephants at all. In September the 8,000-pound pachyderm, who got her exercise on early-morning strolls before the zoo opened, had state-of-the art foot surgery to relieve bone disease that had led to arthritis, which is common among elephants living in captivity. Zoo officials had optimistically declared that Gita was on her way to a full recovery.
But according to newspaper accounts, two keepers found Gita about 5 a.m. Saturday morning sitting up dog-style in the outdoor part of her enclosure with her back legs tucked under her and her front legs outstretched. This position is especially dangerous for the circulatory systems of the giant elephants, who rarely sit down. All attempts to treat Gita failed, and officials have not announced the precise cause of Gita's death. L.A. Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa asked the city for "an independent, timely and exhaustive necropsy of Gita to determine the cause of Gita's death."
Gita's death has intensified the already-mounting pressure on zoos to re-think their elephant exhibits. Last week, an elephant at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, lost her calf in utero."These two incidents intensify the pressure on zoos to aknowledge what they're in denial about — that confining elephants in zoos causes them to suffer and die prematurely," says Suzanne Roy, program director for In Defense of Animals."Elephants in zoos repeatedly have stillbirths and experts we've talked to believe that the lack of exercise and physical fitness contribute to their inability to have successful pregnancies."
Whatever the ultimate outcome of these incidents, some of Gita's mourners expressed a sense of relief on her behalf. "At least she was out of her pain," says Richardson.
Death of Gita Renews Calls to Move Elephants to Sanctuary
June 12, 2006
LA Times
By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
Activists demonstrate at the L.A. Zoo to protest its plans to keep two remaining pachyderms.
Original Article
One day after a 48-year-old Asian elephant died at the Los Angeles Zoo, about two dozen animal rights activists protested there Sunday and called upon officials to close the elephant exhibit and move two remaining pachyderms to an animal sanctuary.
Gita was found in a prone position Saturday morning and is believed to have died after toxins from her muscles flooded her system and caused vascular distress. A necropsy is being performed at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab in San Bernardino, but results will not be available for several days.
"Do not let Gita's death be in vain," said Catherine Doyle of the Los Angeles Alliance for Elephants. "Why she collapsed we don't know…. What we do know is that Gita unnecessarily suffered throughout her life at the Los Angeles Zoo because of the inadequate conditions for elephants here."
Gita, who had lived at the zoo since 1959, struggled with foot bone disease and arthritis and underwent surgery in September. At a protest last fall, Doyle said the animal had a terminal condition and would soon die. A zoo vet examined her on Friday and gave her a good report.
A zoo official said Sunday that Gita's death was a "devastating loss" but defended how keepers and veterinarians treat the elephants.
"Our elephants receive the best care possible, just like all our animals," said zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs. "Gita received excellent care right up until the time of her death."
Jacobs said the average lifespan of an Asian elephant in a zoo is 42 years. Activists said they live until 65 or 70 in their natural habitats.
The last death of an elephant at the zoo was in 2004, when a female African elephant named Tara died of heart failure at 44.
This spring, the Los Angeles City Council approved the construction of a $39-million, 3.5-acre exhibit that will house the two surviving elephants, a 45-year-old African female named Ruby and a 21-year-old Asian bull named Billy.
But activists said Sunday that Gita's death showed that elephants don't belong in zoos. They said they had been warning the zoo for years that Gita was going to die if kept in a place with hard flooring and insufficient space to exercise.
"This is that tragic day that could have been avoided had Gita been sent to the natural habitat of a sanctuary away from the concrete cramped quarters at the L.A. Zoo," said Bill Dyer of In Defense of Animals.
The activists began gathering outside the main entrance about 11:30 a.m., telling patrons about Gita's death and urging them to spend their money elsewhere. Some called the zoo a "death camp" and blamed the zoo for "killing Gita."
Several demonstrators held cardboard headstones with the names of elephants they said had died at the zoo. One waved a placard that said, "Wanna See an Elephant? Go to Asia."
When zoo visitor Lashala Le Blanc saw that sign, she shook her head.
"We can't afford to go to Asia or Africa to see elephants," said Le Blanc, an L.A. resident who had brought her 7-year-old daughter and infant son to the zoo. "We have a zoo right here in L.A. And I'm pretty sure they aren't doing anything wrong."
Before entering the zoo, Rick Sprague and his two daughters stopped to listen to the demonstrations. Sprague, who lives in Simi Valley, said he had been following the controversy over whether the city should build a new exhibit or send the elephants to a sanctuary.
"What do you think?" Sprague asked his eldest daughter, 8-year-old Sydney, as they stood in front of a line of demonstrators.
"If they really did love the elephants, they would give them more space," she said to her father. "They are big animals."