Reid Park Zoo makes Worst Zoos for Elephants list – update from zoo admin
by Rynski on Jan. 12, 2010, under animal cruelty, life, pet dangers, wildlife
Connie and Shaba at Reid Park Zoo/Ryn Gargulinski
There are so many reasons to adore Reid Park Zoo – unless you happen to be an elephant.
Tucson’s sweet little animal sanctuary has for the first time ever made the list of one of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants, according to a press release from In Defense of Animals, the group that compiles the list.
This annual list has been going on for six years and “exposes the hidden suffering of elephants in zoos.” The read the full list of 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants, click here.
Reid Park Zoo’s two elephants, Connie and Shaba, had a grand new exhibit in the works for some time. But IDA says the zoo is putting the plans on hold thanks to lack of funds.
Damn budget.
The Reid Park Zoo’s website notes an admission increase starting Jan. 19, but there is nothing noted about the elephant exhibit being put on hold. Sawyer is awaiting a response from zoo administrators to fill us in on the possible delay and other info put forth in the IDA release.
If the exhibit is being delayed, Connie and Shaba will be stuck in their current small space rather than roaming around in the much-touted new exhibit.
The IDA explains why Reid Park Zoo made No. 4 on its Top 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list:
Reid Park Zoo (Arizona) – Time to ride off into the sunset
Several years ago, the zoo refused to relocate its elephants, Connie and Shaba, to a sanctuary, at no cost to the zoo or Tucson taxpayers. Instead, the zoo said it would build a new exhibit, to be funded in part by a multi-million dollar bond measure.Last week, the zoo announced that lack of funds has indefinitely postponed renovation of its tiny elephant exhibit, leaving Connie and Shaba stuck in a measly one-third of an acre yard.
Both elephants suffer from health problems caused by horribly inadequate conditions. Connie has endured painful chronic foot abscesses since at least 1996. At one point, she had an infection in every nail on her feet. Shaba also has a history of foot disorders, which began shortly after she arrived at the zoo at age two. Foot disease is a common cause of death in captive elephants because they do not have the space they need for healthy movement and soft, natural surfaces that promote foot and joint health.
A 2006 IDA survey found that 62 percent of elephants in U.S. zoos suffer foot disease, while 42 percent endure joint disorders. Abnormal behaviors such as Connie’s repetitive swaying only exacerbate these problems. Lack of space, the misery caused by foot disease, and the zoo’s failure to provide better conditions call for bringing an immediate end to the elephants’ suffering and the zoo’s elephant exhibit.
Eeek.
While many of us love seeing elephants at the zoo, we have to wonder if they enjoy being there. At all.
But we bet if we asked any other animal if they particularly liked living in zoo, the response may not be all that positive.
What we do know is Reid Park Zoo has an amazing staff of caring people and many exhibits that keep the animals comfortable and clean.
We also know the city is being crushed by the budget – or lack thereof.
India banned elephants from all of its zoos last year, the IDA release said, and the group encourages North America to follow suit and realize many don’t have the space – or money – to properly care for and house these gentle giants.
UPDATE from Susan Basford, Reid Park Zoo administrator:
Thank you for checking with us about the condition of the Reid Park Zoo elephants. Both Connie and Shaba are in excellent health and receive great care from dedicated zoo professionals. The existing elephant habitat successfully meets their needs, and has been modified recently with additional improvements to keep their minds active and bodies healthy.
Contrary to the IDA report, the Zoo’s veterinarian, nutritionist and elephant care consultant from the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park all agree that the animals are very healthy. At the same time, we have been in the process of designing an expansion to the Zoo that will provide a much larger, more complex elephant exhibit that will eventually allow us to house up to six animals.
The expansion is part of the next phase of the Zoo master plan, which also included the Conservation Learning Center. The cost for this phase is shared between the City of Tucson and the Tucson Zoological Society (now Reid Park Zoological Society). The Society has been extraordinarily successful in raising capital funds needed for the project. Their success is a testament to the commitment of the community to the Zoo and to this project in particular.
The Society is currently in the midst of the “Community Campaign,” asking individuals to help make this expansion a reality. While the City originally expected to fund the construction project through a bond election, recent economic challenges have delayed that opportunity. Alternate funding sources are being explored, and we anticipate construction beginning in 2010.
Thanks for the update, Susan. We wish Connie, Shaba and the entire zoo all the best and hope to keep readers posted on the progress.
To help Reid Park Zoo or donate to the community campaign, visit the website at tucsonzoo.org
What do you think?
Should Reid Park Zoo send its elephants off to a sanctuary?
Are you for or against zoos?
Should we just let all the animals loose?
Are the IDA complaints valid or is this just another rabble-rousing animal rights group?
January 12th, 2010 on 9:19 am
Sawyer must be very sad for these elephants. I feel the same way. I’ve always thought their enclosure was much too small. If the zoo doesn’t have the facilities, send these poor, pitiful pachyderms to some facility that does. Shameful!
January 12th, 2010 on 9:25 am
yes, sawyer is sad about the elephants. he cannot imagine a place where he would not be able to rollick, twist and shout.
the reid park zoo people have such big hearts – and a giant challenge with money issues.
i enjoy your use of alliteration – “poor, pitiful pachyderms” – you should have a poetic license! – but don’t enjoy the situation.
January 12th, 2010 on 9:22 am
The zoo is not to blame, the city is. The zoological society has raised their half of the money for the new exhibit, as agreed, but the city has put off for one year the bond election that was supposed to supply the city half of the money. The zoo fulfilled their obligation, has the plans already drawn and is ready to go! Incidentally, the sanctuary IDA wants the elephants to go to recently had a keeper killed by an elephant, while Reid Park has a perfect safety record.
January 12th, 2010 on 9:28 am
thanks for input, fred.
based on my past contact with reid park zoo, i knew everyone was SO excited about the elephant exhibit and doing everything they could to make it happen.
so sad to hear it’s stalled.
you bring up another very good point, too – who is to say the proposed sanctuary is any better – or safer! – than connie’s and shaba’s current habitat.
thanks for commenting.
January 12th, 2010 on 6:03 pm
Yes, there has been one instance. On July 21, 2006 Winkie, a female Asian elephant, knocked down and stepped on Joanna Burke, 36, Winkie’s caregiver for 6 years, while Joanna was going to look at a sting to one of Winkie’s eyes. Joanna was killed instantly. Winkie had a reputation as a dangerous animal while she was living in a zoo but it was clear by her actions that Winkie was not acting out aggressively any more than trying to indicate she had pain from the sting and the subsequent treatment. Winkie was not euthanized, as per Joanna’s wishes. You have to keep in mind, many of the elephants at sanctuaries endured very difficult lives. These things happen. Nothing is to blame except their former lives at the hands of abusive people and a reaction to pain, in this case, which may have even thrown Winkie back to her pre-sanctuary days. Who knows.
I suggest you explore their website to learn more about why Connie and Shaba would have been much better off there: http://www.elephants.com/elephant_care_appeal.htm
They engage in only passive control and non-dominant management.
January 12th, 2010 on 9:30 am
I can see how some people would be upset by the apparent unhealthy lifestyle of all the animals in a zoo. Think about it as if you were the animal on display. Hundreds of hundreds of people come to look and gawk at you each year and all you can do is try to act normal, but we all know that you don’t always have the means to act normal. I know that as a human, I do my best to create a private environment at home…and do my best to NOT be spied on by creepy screen door girl (who, by the way, said ‘Hi’ to me yesterday while I was checking my mail.) These animals can’t do that. Or maybe they just don’t care about being stared at by toddlers and their parents pointing “Look Timmy! The lion moved his paw and inch to the right! OMG!”. This all makes me sound hateful towards zoos, but I actually love going to them, as contradictory as that may seem. Reid Park Zoo will always hold a special place in my heart since it’s where my boyfriend and I had our first date.
I dunno Ryn, if I was a zoo animal, I’d be the crazy one trying to attack the humans through the glass…or the silly monkey throwing poo at everyone. (Embrace the pooh! Right azmouse?)
January 12th, 2010 on 10:06 am
jenna, i am EXACTLY where you are on this issue. ii simply adore visiting the zoo – esp reid park although my experience has been less romantic than yours! (haha!) – but i simply abhor the thought of being an animal stuck in one.
sigh.
i, too, MUST have my private home environment and go to great pains to make it that way.
i am flabbergasted the creepy screen girl talks! this could be bad or good – bad that she may try to blabber at you – but good you know she will understand “go away”
finally – quadruple HAHA on you being one of the attacking or embrace the poo animals! too funny. i’d be the anteater hiding from the crowd beneath a mound of dirt or something.
January 12th, 2010 on 5:39 pm
On the flip side, if you were an animal in a zoo you would be guaranteed fresh food and water everyday, given enrichment daily to keep you stimulated and given a place for privacy. All zoo enclosures are built to give the animals some privacy. Also, zoo exhibits being built now are built to replicate the animal’s habitat. In the case of a Tucson’s elephant exhibit, it may not look like an African savanna now but after they build a new habitat. I have seen renderings of the planned exhibit and it does look promising.
January 12th, 2010 on 11:03 pm
Taylor, I have no idea what your basing your statements on, because it sure ain’t zoos as they exist today. Zoo enclosures are built with one thing uppermost in mind – the paying customer, the zoo patron. If the zoo patron can see the animal up close, that’s success. Very few enclosures give the animals privacy or freedom of choice. And to mimic an elephants’ natural habitat would require THOUSANDS of acres, not the handful that the Reid Park Zoo is planning. An African elephant’s MINIMUM range, according to the Amboseli Elephant research project, the longest running elephant research in the world, is nearly 25,000 acres!!!
January 13th, 2010 on 11:56 am
You couldn’t be more wrong. If all zoos cared about was the paying customer, they would do nothing to improve the actual enclosure and improve the visitor experience only. You thinking elephants need 25, 000 acres is purely opinion. I understand you hate zoos, but just because you hate them doesn’t mean they are wrong.Please tell me where your proof is that is all zoos do, build a new exhibit only for the paying customer? You can look at any recently built enclosure and its all about the animal and the visitor. A good visitor experience is necessary to connect the visitor with the the animal. I am actually happy you said that, because you just demonstrated how ignorant you really are. Why then do you so often comment on the San Diego Zoo’s elephant blog?
January 12th, 2010 on 10:08 am
I think that maybe both elephants should be sent to a sanctuary. I think that because Reid Park Zoo can not afford the remodel to give the elephants more space they should let them go they are not healthy and you definetly do not want anything happen to these animals. Why make them suffer? I do like to go to the zoo but if the elephants were not there and I knew it was because they were at a better place it would be okay.
January 12th, 2010 on 10:27 am
thanks for input, leann.
i could def. agree with that. sawyer is planning to find out what kind of plans are in store for the elephants – so please stay tuned!
January 12th, 2010 on 10:19 am
Nobody cares.
January 12th, 2010 on 10:25 am
dear what,
that reminds me of a quote i recently saw:
“Folks who don’t like Pez dispensers go into the same category as those who don’t like animals – you just can’t trust them.”
January 12th, 2010 on 10:43 am
Turn the golf courses into a zoo instead of those folks who play that silly little game, then the pachyderms can play and do what they do. oh jeeze, clamming municipalities is the captcha
January 12th, 2010 on 11:56 am
Great idea Farley! Then Tiger Woods could get a job as an elephant pooper scooper.
January 12th, 2010 on 12:02 pm
that IS a good idea – but tiger wouldn’t work as pooper scooper – it would just make him blubber like he did when he pretended to care that his marriage was all crumbled.
January 12th, 2010 on 1:26 pm
The zoo’s statement is quite unbelievable and needs to be challenged. Two unrelated elephants are displayed in a tiny yard — just how does this “habitat” meet the needs of a species that naturally lives in large, close-knit family groups and walk tens of miles a day in huge home ranges? The zoo utterly fails to meet the elephants’ physical, social (the elephants are two different species) and psychological needs. As far as health is concerned, you can access the elephants’ medical records on-line at http://www.savezooelephants.com/medical_records.html#reid
January 12th, 2010 on 4:58 pm
Oh, I definitely think you should check out the medical records of the elephants online. Even though the latest is for 2008, you can see what good care they get, including their daily pedicure, scrubbing, and full body inspection. Have you had a cold, bruise, scratch or any other ailment in the last year? Did you treat it of did someone go to jail for abuse?
January 12th, 2010 on 5:47 pm
Did you not see:
“Connie has endured painful chronic foot abscesses since at least 1996. At one point, she had an infection in every nail on her feet. Shaba also has a history of foot disorders, which began shortly after she arrived at the zoo at age two.”
The reason why they’re always giving them “pedicures” is to keep these horrible infections at bay. They would have never experienced such if they weren’t living in such a deplorably small space.
Oh, yeah and Connie sways her head…all…day…long. If that’s not the result of psychological stress, I don’t know what is.
January 12th, 2010 on 3:35 pm
It’s sad to learn that the elephants at Reid Pk Zoo will have to endure yet more crowding for the foreseeable future. I agree that the current space is to small for them,; in fact, I wrote a letter to Don Diamond, a few years back, suggesting that he had the wherewithall to provide a new, adequate space for not only the RPZ animals, but other captive elephants who were in similar straits. In other words, I put the arm on Diamond for a Tucson Elephant Sactuary!
I never heard back from him.
And so it goes. One by one, captive zoo elephants, housed in small enclosures, will die off and the problem will be solved. Right now, there is NO public money to rectify the situation. It is a pitiful situation.
January 12th, 2010 on 4:38 pm
It’s not surprising that zoo officials respond with the regurgitation of the usual platitudes of “elephants are in excellent health” and “receive great care.” Ringling Bros. circus says the same thing, despite reams of evidence from the recent Federal trial against them on animal abuse charges (dismissed for lack of standing, NOT on the merits of the case as Ringling has misrepresented to the public) showing that the elephants are chained up to 72 hours or more at at time, spend 100 hours in the back of boxcars without a break, are repeatedly beaten with steel-tipped bullhooks -sometimes until they bleed.
Can you really take the statements of either the zoo or the circus at face value when these entities depend on the exploitation of these magnificent beings for their livelihoods? Dig a little deeper and you’ll find facts that are irrefutable: elephants in captivity die on average at half their natural lifespan and the number one cause of death is foot- and joint-related problems from the lack of space. The infant mortality rate of captive elephants is over 50 percent – another sure sign of problems – when in the wild it is less than 10 percent. Over 50 percent of zoos still use out-dated “free contact” elephant management involving circus-style training methods based on fear, dominance and violence.
There should be a top 100 list of worst zoos for elephants – that would be more appropriate.
January 12th, 2010 on 5:39 pm
Exactly. It’s always the same crap from these zoos and circuses. \
January 13th, 2010 on 9:39 pm
Oh please – it’s the animal rights groups and individuals like the one here who are constantly spouting crap not the zoos.
January 12th, 2010 on 4:54 pm
Tucson has the exact same weather that the elephants have in their native land. The two elephants have been together over 25 years and would die of loneliness if separated. Neither has any foot problems at this time. Recently, 15 elephants would have been killed in Africa because they were invading the gardens and homes of the locals, but were not because San Deigo Zoo could keep them until another zoo might be available. Just letting elephants run is not the solution. Good care is the solution and the keepers at Reid Park are the best and have been with the elephants for over 20 years. Get real.
January 12th, 2010 on 5:18 pm
Thank you zookeepers for your wonderful work. You have a love for these animals and they get the best care.
January 12th, 2010 on 5:38 pm
It saddened me so greatly when Save Tucson Elephants lost the battle to send Connie and Shaba to the elephant sanctuary in TN due to an unexpected vote by Tucson’s City Council that took all the opposition by surprise. It literally did these poor creatures a disservice. 41-year-old Connie and 28-year-old Shaba have spent nearly their entire lives confined on less than ½ acre at the Reid Park Zoo. Progressive zoos are recognizing that elephants cannot thrive in captivity and are sending their eles to sanctuaries or phasing them out as they consistently die before their time and while alive, have a myriad of health problems that lead to premature death. It’s been studied and proven that this happens time and time again. An elephant’s normal lifespan is 60-70 years. Here is just one example of a 26-year-old elephant that died way before it’s time due to joint rot: http://www.idanews.org/ida-breaking-news/elephants/nashville-zoo-death-stirs-controversial-elephant-debate/
Even the more acreage that the expansion will bring (IF it ever happens) is not enough. In the wild, elephants travel up to 30 miles per day; this freedom and constant movement prevents joint rot and arthritis, is essential for their physical and psychological good health. There are 640 acres in just one square mile. The sanctuary in TN is 2,700 acres, and divided so that the elephants can be with their own species, so they could engage in more natural behavior. To have an African and Asian together, let alone in such a small space, is unheard of – they would never encounter one another in the wild.
January 12th, 2010 on 7:24 pm
The elephant exhibit is totally inadequate for these migratory giants who are genetically wired to travel great distances. There is no amount of space at Reid Zoo that is humane.
The Zoo simply cannot provide the space, social interaction or climate to keep Connie and Shaba healthy.
Particularly heartbreaking is witnessing their repetitive neurotic behaviors— the effects of long term suffering.
At the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary Connie and Shaba would join 15 other elephants; roam hills, forests and meadows; and swim in a 25-acre lake—all in a lush sub-tropical climate. What is the humane decision?
January 12th, 2010 on 10:49 pm
What sucks the most is The Elephant Sanctuary in TN originally offered to take them for free, paying all time, travel, and transportation. The humane zoos that have retired their elephants had to pay for all that. That is how far Carol Buckley was willing to go to help poor Connie and Shaba
I was out there every weekend for several months petitioning, and largely the public was supportive when they understood the situation fully. What really chaffs me is that the city council suddenly did a vote when we weren’t even expecting it, yet SOMEHOW the zoo knew and had all their staff and children there, as well as the news channels outside. I don’t even know who was running the zoo because so many zoo people were there. Oh, and to fully pluck at the heart strings, they had all the kids bring the council a money jar they “saved” to keep Connie and Shaba here. I mean, that’s really low. I talked to many kids (with their parents permission) when I petitioned. Once a kid fully understood the reasons why an elephant doesn’t belong in the zoo, they agreed it was more important for them to be happy than for the eles to be in the zoo where they could see them. Anyway, we looked ridiculous because we had no idea such a vote would take place and only had our usual members who spoke every week, when really we had many, many supporters. Oh, and the zoo did this confusing mailing that said, “IF YOU LOVE OUR ELEPHANTS keep them here” so lots saw “LOVE OUR ELEPHANTS” and signed and sent it back, not realizing what they were supporting, let alone the fact that they dropped thousands of dollars on these mailers. Save Tucson Elephants simply did not have that kind of money. =(
January 12th, 2010 on 9:07 pm
Cat makes a very good point. It is very difficult to provide an environment that allows for a reasonable approximation of normal elephant behavior in the wild. I have very mixed and conflicted feelings about elephants in captivity. On the one hand, it is a pleasure to see them. On the other, I wonder whether it is humane to exhibit such intelligent animals in an environment that can’t allow for the expression of normal behaviors.
I do like Andrew/Farley’s suggestion about turning the golf courses over to animals. I think it’s a much better use of the land to take it away from privileged primates and give it to some pitiful pachyderms.
January 12th, 2010 on 10:10 pm
Please close this zoo.Retire,donate,or sell all animals to a good home
Close the golf course and baseball field.Convert this to a central park
food courts /pavilions,gardens,fountains,entertainment venues ,
etc for all residents of all ages to enjoy/thanks