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Feds probe death of Lincoln Park Zoo camel

May 6, 2005

BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter

Federal authorities said Thursday they have launched an investigation following the death of a camel at Lincoln Park Zoo -- a death that animal-rights activists say was caused when the animal was left outside on a cold winter night last December.

The zoo confirmed a camel died last winter but said the animal likely expired from a gastrointestinal disease. The zoo argued that Bactrian camels naturally live in cold weather, citing Mongolia, where temperatures reach 10 degrees below zero.

The probe by United States Department of Agriculture investigators comes after a department inspector reported the zoo was out of compliance with federal shelter guidelines -- a situation that "contributed to the death of this animal,'' according to another USDA official.

The zoo acknowledged it has since altered its shelter for camels.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote the feds in January saying that "a whistleblower'' told the group the camel was "left outdoors when keepers overlooked transferring him indoors and was found dead in the morning.''

'Subzero wind chills' cited

In the letter, PETA elephant specialist Nicole Meyer wrote, "We suspect the camel died from hypothermia, as Chicago has been experiencing subzero wind chills.''

In a response, Robert A. Willems, regional animal care specialist, e-mailed PETA saying the zoo was in "noncompliance with our regulations'' in the matter and listing that situation as a contributing factor in the animal's death.

Willems could not be reached for comment. Darby G. Holladay, a spokesman with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, confirmed Willems had corresponded with PETA but would not discuss the case, citing policy not to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Lincoln Park Zoo released a USDA inspection report on the camel exhibit. There is no link to the camel's death in that report.

Holladay said a probe by the department's Investigative and Enforcement Service began at the zoo this week. Zoo officials were unaware of that investigation, a spokeswoman said.

Lincoln Park spokeswoman Kelly McGrath said camels are rarely brought indoors at the zoo during the winter. She said it is "dangerous'' to do so because the indoor warmth could cause them to shed their coats and lose their acclimation to cold weather. Instead, the animals find shelter behind a roofed windbreak.

McGrath said the USDA inspected the camel area twice. The USDA report released by the zoo noted the exhibit "does not provide adequate shelter from inclement weather.'' It added in an afternote that "an immediate and short-term solution has been implemented.'' McGrath said that solution was to extend the windbreak.

3 elephants also dead

The cause of death was inconclusive, but a University of Illinois pathologist suspected a gastrointestinal disease, she said. The zoo would not release that necropsy.

In the investigation launched this week, if USDA investigators find a violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act, it can file a complaint that would be heard by an administrative law judge, said Holladay. A ruling could result in fines, or suspension or termination of the zoo's operating license.

The zoo has been the focus of PETA as the North Side institution has experienced the deaths of three of its elephants in the last six months, the most recent on Sunday as it was transferring its sole remaining elephant, Wankie, to a zoo in Salt Lake City.