Death stuns zoo, riles protesters
Wankie euthanized after tough trip from Lincoln Park to Utah
By Jamie Francisco and William Mullen
Tribune staff reporters
Published May 2, 2005
The third and last elephant in the recent care of Lincoln Park Zoo was euthanized Sunday after it fell ill en route to a new zoo home in Salt Lake City.
The death of the 36-year-old female African elephant Wankie comes amid a long face-off with animal rights activists over the suitability of housing elephants in zoos.
On Sunday, Lincoln Park Zoo president Kevin Bell said Wankie's death may bring an end to elephants at the zoo.
The zoo plans to transform the area for elephants into a pen for camels, he said.
"We have no plans to bring elephants back to Lincoln Park Zoo in the future," Bell said.
It is the third elephant death for the zoo in the last six months. Wankie was the last surviving member of a trio of female elephants brought to Lincoln Park Zoo from the San Diego Wild Animal Park in 2003 amid protests from animal rights groups.
Her death stunned zoo officials, who said they noticed no signs of medical problems when she was loaded at 9:30 a.m. Friday into a truck for transport to Hogle Zoo. Signs of trouble arose at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, when Wankie lay down in her crate, a position that could have inhibited breathing.
Bell said that because elephants are so heavy, the position also could have damaged the tissue and muscle in her legs. She arrived in Salt Lake City by Saturday evening, but when her condition did not improve, a team of veterinarians made the decision to euthanize her. She died at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
"We are devastated by Wankie's death," Bell said.
Animal rights activists expressed sadness about Wankie's death and blamed zoo officials for her illness.
"This would not have happened if they had agreed to transfer her to a sanctuary," said Debbie Leahy, spokeswoman for the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Wankie would be alive and she would have a chance to live a full and enriching life.
"It would be the closest thing to living in the wild if they would've allowed her to live in a sanctuary. They deprived her of that. It was a cold, heartless decision to send her to Hogle Zoo."
PETA members held a protest Wednesday over Lincoln Park's decision to send her to another zoo. Leahy said the zoo had not adequately prepared Wankie for the move.
"They rushed it," Leahy said. "They only had that crate in her exhibit for about two weeks. These elephants are not accustomed to being transported. They should've spent months preparing her for trailer transport."
Bell said at a news conference Sunday that Wankie had been trained for several weeks and showed no problems getting into the crate.
A spokeswoman for In Defense of Animals, another animal rights group that had been opposed to the zoo's handling of the elephants, said Sunday the zoo had rushed Wankie out of the city "to circumvent the public hearing scheduled in the Chicago City Council May 12" on sending the elephant to a sanctuary instead of another zoo.
"We are holding Lincoln Park Zoo accountable and believe that they need now to release the medical records and necropsy reports of all three elephants that have died," said Rae Leann Smith, the spokeswoman. "We need to have public accountability to see what kind of care and what kind of medical treatment these animals had been receiving."
In January, Lincoln Park officials announced they planned to move Wankie to another facility shortly after the death of Peaches, a 55-year-old elephant that was known as the oldest African zoo elephant in the United States. Peaches' death came only three months after the death of a 35-year-old elephant, Tatima. An autopsy determined that Tatima died of a rare lung disease similar to tuberculosis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association will conduct an independent audit starting Monday to ensure that the zoo took all measures necessary to care for the elephants, Bell said.
"They can't claim that Wankie is fine and perfectly healthy and make excuses about her health when she dies in transit," Leahy said. "Elephants can live to be 70 years old. This elephant wasn't even middle-aged yet."
Bell said the decision to move Wankie was made to provide her with companionship.
"As much as we loved Wankie here at the zoo, we knew she couldn't stay here alone," he said. "We were excited that she would be going to a new home where she would be with other elephants. To have such an unexpected tragedy occur is heartbreaking for us all."
A grief counselor will be brought in to help the five-member elephant team and other veterinarians who worked closely with Wankie. Results from an autopsy are expected in several weeks.
"At this point, we have no idea what the problem was," Bell said.
In April 2003, when plans were being made to transfer the three female elephants from the San Diego Wild Animal Park in California to Lincoln Park, PETA sent a letter to Bell asking the zoo to reconsider. "Chicago's long, bitter cold winters will have a devastating effect on elephants who are accustomed to being outdoors year-round in San Diego's warm climate," PETA wrote.
PETA plans to encourage the USDA to conduct a thorough investigation. Leahy said PETA offered to pay the cost to transport Wankie to the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.
"It's just absolute paradise for elephants in captivity," Leahy said. "Wankie would've been so happy there."
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_121220557.html
Last Lincoln Park Zoo Elephant Dies
VIDEO: Kristyn Hartman reports.
May 1, 2005 9:05 pm US/Central
CHICAGO (CBS 2) The last elephant at the Lincoln Park Zoo has died.
Wankie, a 36-year-old African elephant, died Sunday just days after being moved from Lincoln Park to a Utah zoo following the death of her two elephant companions earlier this year.
During the trip Friday from Chicago to her new home at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Wankie began to lie down for extended periods of time, according to a release from Lincoln Park Zoo.
When she arrived at Hogle Zoo, her condition continued to deteriorate despite the efforts of more than 20 experienced animal care professionals and two veterinarians, the release stated. The Utah zoo made the decision to euthanize the elephant Sunday morning, the release stated.
For Lincoln Park Zoo officials the news of her death hit home.
"We are devastated by Wankie's death," Lincoln Park zoo President and CEO Kevin Bell said in the release, "as much as we loved Wankie here at the zoo we knew she couldn't stay here alone."
Animal rights groups say elephants belong in sanctuaries, where they have more space.
"We know zoos are killing elephants," said RaeLeann Smith of In Defense Of Animals. "The lack of space causes captivity-induced ailments."
But zoo officials say their animals are never mistreated.
"We felt very comfortable with the quality of care with our exhibit," Lincoln Park Zoo President Kevin Bell said at a news conference.
In the spring of 2003, Lincoln Park Zoo welcomed three African elephants to Chicago with great fanfare.
The first elephant, Tatima, died in October 2004 of tuberculosis. Just three months later, Peaches was put to sleep after she was found on the floor of her enclosure with unfocused, almost unseeing eyes and never got up on her feet. Zoo officials say she suffered from complications associated with old age.
Prior to her move Friday, elephant keepers and animal behavior specialists at Lincoln Park Zoo had worked with the elephant to keep her active following the death of her companions, the release stated.
It was decided to move the animal to Utah to join other elephants to meet her physical and emotional needs, the release stated.
"We were excited that she would be going to a new home where she would be with other elephants," Bell said. "To have such an unexpected tragedy occur is heartbreaking for us all."
Grief counselors would be available to support zoo staff members Monday, the release stated.
Zoo officials say an autopsy will be performed on Wankie. They also plan to request an independent audit. Those results would likely not be available for several weeks.
Wankie was owned by the Zoological Society of San Diego, the release stated.