Elephant Crisis at L.A. Zoo: Gita's Medical Condition Worsens
Experts Lay Blame on Damaging Zoo Conditions

Los Angeles — Local animal advocates and IDA will gather outside L.A. Zoo to reveal disturbing, newly obtained medical records for Gita, the 47-year-old Asian elephant suffering severe health problems that are a direct result of damaging zoo conditions. Current L.A. Zoo records indicate that since May, the severity of Gita's foot infections has seriously worsened, with bone in one of her toes having "disappeared" – literally rotted away due to advanced infection. Because of the urgent nature of Gita's condition, advocates are calling for her to immediately be removed, if still possible, from L.A. Zoo and sent to an elephant sanctuary.

When:	Wednesday, October 5, 11:00 a.m.
	11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. daily
Where:	L.A. Zoo, 5333 Zoo Drive in Griffith Park -- in front of main entrance

"I believe Gita's condition is poor to guarded. I will be astonished if she lives another six months," said 23-year zoo and wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Mel Richardson, after reviewing Gita's medical records from May 20, 2005 through August 9, 2005 and observing her recently at L.A. Zoo. "Gita is in this condition directly because of the over forty years of inactivity and over forty years of standing on concrete and/or hard packed substrate. Yes the proposed new elephant exhibit is better than what the elephants at Los Angeles have now. But will it solve the captivity-induced foot abscesses and osteomyelitis [bone infection]? NO! The most humane thing to do for Gita now is to get her to natural substrate. She is terminally ill and needs hospice care."

Since late 2003, Gita has been warehoused away from the public in a tiny, "temporary" facility partially covered in concrete, even though it is widely known that concrete causes lethal foot and joint problems in elephants and would seriously exacerbate Gita's existing health problems. The Zoo's own medical records reveal Gita's foot abscesses and arthritis were less severe when "she was rarely kept on cement and her lameness issues were much improved." Advocates have long warned that Gita's health would continue to deteriorate in her present enclosure, yet the Zoo refused to place Gita in more a more suitable, natural habitat environment.

Field scientists report that ailments plaguing zoo elephants, such as foot infections, are unheard of in wild elephant populations, where elephants' ability to travel tens of miles a day helps to maintain healthy feet and joints. Gita has lived almost her entire life confined at L.A. Zoo, and much of that time she has continuously suffered painful abscesses in the nails and soles of her feet. She was additionally diagnosed with arthritis when she was only 27. Arthritis and foot problems are the two leading causes of euthanasia in captive elephants in the U.S. Due to the severity of her captivity-induced condition, Gita will not live to see her 50th birthday, though the natural lifespan of Asian elephants is 70 years.

Questions about the health and welfare of the elephants at L.A. Zoo have been raised by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who recently placed a hold on funding for the Zoo's proposed $16 million elephant exhibit, stating concern about whether the Zoo can provide appropriate space for the elephants. A formal evaluation is pending. Elephant experts recently testified at a special Zoo Commission meeting that a two-acre exhibit is outdated and too small to maintain the elephants' mental and physical health.

Please visit HelpElephants.com for more information. Copies of Gita's medical records are available.