Chicago Not For Elephants, Scientists Tells Aldermen

By Kelly Kennedy
Chicago Tribune staff reporter

August 26, 2005

Original Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0508260256aug26,1,6522490.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

A top research scientist at a national park in Kenya told City Council committee members Thursday that Chicago could never provide elephants the kind of habitat they need to be healthy and happy.

"In captivity, elephants become dysfunctional," said Joyce Poole, research director for the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. "In the wild, there are no foot or weight problems, there is no swaying back and forth, and there is no problem conceiving."

Elephants stay healthy in the wild because they can travel 5 to 10 miles a day, can socialize with large groups of family members, can keep their feet clean and can stand on softer ground, she said.

Poole, whose appearance was sponsored by the animal-rights groups People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and In Defense of Animals, spoke during a hearing for two ordinances that would increase the amount of space in Chicago zoos or circuses traveling through Chicago

The ordinances call for 5 acres indoors and 5 acres outdoors per elephant, more than the U.S. Department of Agriculture and American Zoo and Aquarium Association say elephants should have. The ordinances also would ban disciplinary methods that cause pain.

"We are months away from bringing this before the City Council," said Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th), the committee chairwoman. "We don't deal with elephant issues on a day-to-day basis in our neighborhoods, and we want to dig deeper into the issues."

Officials at the Lincoln Park Zoo say they have already begun looking into the issues Poole brought up because three elephants--Tatima, Peaches and Wankie--have died at the zoo since October. No elephants have lived at the zoo since those deaths and won't until the research is complete, said Steven Thompson, vice president of the Lincoln Park Zoo.

"I don't think the ordinance is based on any rigorous scientific information," Thompson said. "I think that's a lot of space, and it would make it very difficult for the Lincoln Park Zoo."

Thompson said Poole has only studied elephants in the wild, so her ideas of space recommendations may be different from what zoo animals need.

After studying 2,000 wild Kenyan elephants for 34 years, Poole said wild elephants do not get foot diseases. Lincoln Park Zoo elephant Tatima, however, had a foot infection when she died.

In zoos, Poole said, veterinarians scrape the bottom of elephants' feet smooth to avoid infection from feces. Elephants are born with deep grooves in their feet that can pick up materials.

Elephants in zoos also stand on hard concrete or rubber floors.

"They defecate a lot," Poole said. "Seventeen times a day. Normal dirt floors can't be cleaned properly."

Wild elephants also move all but a few hours a day, which prevents arthritis and weight-related infertility problems, Poole said. Captive animals weigh 31 to 71 percent more than wild elephants, she added.

Wild animals stay with their mothers an average of 14.3 years, or for life if they are female.

Poole has seen two cases of infertility in more than 500 wild animals. And female elephants learn from age 2 how to take care of babies.

"In zoos, females don't know what to do," Poole said. "That is the reason we have no maternal rejection or infanticide in the wild."

The solution is to put elephants in sanctuaries in warmer climates, such as the South, she said. Chicago is too cold, Poole said, and forces the elephants inside.

"Elephants are not made for zoos the way we see them today," she said. "I would like to see 10, maybe 15 places that are more like a sanctuary."

Jane Ballentine, spokeswoman for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, disagreed.

"It's all the same arguments I've heard before from animal-rights activists," she said. "Obviously, she's a very well-respected scientist. But there are no definitive studies to say what space is enough."

Instead, zoos are moving toward space that allows elephants to stay in motion and interact with the rest of the herd.

Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) wondered if Poole's ideas of not having elephants in Chicago zoos might open a Pandora's box.

"Every animal in the zoo is in captivity," he said. "I have to believe there are people who can come in and say the same exact thing about seals and lions and otters. It seems as if you're saying there should be no animals in captivity."

But Smith cited the Bird House and otters in the Children's Zoo as examples of habitats that work.

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) worried that children would not be able to see elephants if they were transferred to sanctuaries in the South.

Thompson, of the Lincoln Park Zoo, said allowing people to see live elephants encourages people to get involved in conservation activities and to care about animals.

Poole suggested another possibility: A video display or virtual elephants, plus education about why elephants are not in a zoo. If children saw elephants as they behave in the wild, they might find they care more about conservation and how they're treated, she said.

"Zoo elephants look like elephants. But they're certainly not acting like elephants."