Chicago Alderman Proposes Resolution to Send Lincoln Park Zoo’s Last Surviving Elephant to Sanctuary
Two Premature Elephant Deaths at Chicago Zoo Fuels Controversy Over Keeping World’s Largest Land Mammal In Zoos

Chicago - In the wake of the second elephant death at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Alderman George A. Cardenas of the 12th Ward working with In Defense of Animals (IDA), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and concerned Chicagoans, today introduced a resolution in support of sending Wankie, the sole remaining elephant at the Zoo, to a sanctuary rather than another zoo and permanently closing the zoo’s pachyderm exhibit. The resolution has been referred to the Parks and Recreation Committee and will be heard at the next Parks and Recreation Committee meeting. 

In the last six months, Peaches and Tatima, two of three elephants transferred from San Diego to Chicago, died spurring a flurry of debate over the ability of the Lincoln Park Zoo to provide for elephants’ needs for expansive space and complex social networks. In January of this year, Peaches prematurely died at age 55 and Tatima died in October at age 34. Both elephants died due to captivity-induced health problems caused by zoo conditions. Elephants in the wild naturally have a 70-year lifespan; elephants in zoos on average die at half their natural lifespan.

Peaches, Tatima and Wankie, the surviving elephant, were exiled to cold Chicago in April 2002 by the San Diego Zoo, which dumped the ailing elephants to make room for younger elephants captured from the wild in Africa. The Zoo’s shocking betrayal of the elephants who had lived in San Diego for over three decades was decried by IDA and animal protection advocates, who predicted – correctly – that the elephants would not live long in Chicago, where, after being trucked 2000 miles, they would be forced to spend long winter months confined indoors in concrete stalls.

“We are pleased that compassionate aldermen have recognized that it is time to end the suffering of elephants at the Lincoln Park Zoo by ending the practice of keeping them at this urban zoo that is unable to provide adequate space and weather,” says Chicagoan RaeLeann Smith, IDA spokesperson. 

In the wild, elephants can walk tens of miles a day over varied terrains, which is essential for their health. In zoos, elephants spend their time inactive in cramped enclosures, standing on concrete or hard compacted dirt which leads to extremely painful degenerative joint disorders and recurrent foot infections, as well as digestive and reproductive problems. As the largest land mammal, elephants are genetically designed for almost constant movement. 

The Lincoln Park and San Diego Zoos both landed on IDA’s 2004 Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants list for their mishandling of Peaches, Wankie and Tatima and their refusal to transfer the elephants to a sanctuary where they could walk on soft soil, take mud baths and improve painful foot and joint problems. 

Please visit savezooelephants.com for more information.