Countdown! Ruby the Elephant To Leave L.A. Zoo Next Week

Ruby is second zoo elephant this month to be transferred from a zoo to a sanctuary

Los Angeles—Start the countdown! One week from today, Ruby the elephant will get onto a truck at Los Angeles Zoo and head for her spacious new home at the PAWS Sanctuary in Northern California. Ruby is the second elephant this month to be transferred from an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo to a sanctuary.

Ruby, a 46-year-old African elephant, has been the center of controversy since 2003. Advocates and citizens – including TV game show host Bob Barker – had long urged the move. Barker pledged $300,000 in matching funds to support Ruby’s transfer and care at the sanctuary.

“Ruby was the first elephant to bring national attention to the suffering of elephants in zoos,” says veterinarian and IDA president Elliot Katz. “We are happy that she finally will have a permanent, stable home with other African elephants and the space and natural conditions that all elephants so desperately need.”

Ruby gained national attention when, in 2003, the L.A. Zoo separated her from Gita, her companion of 16 years, and sent her to a Knoxville, Tenn. zoo, sparking a groundbreaking citizen lawsuit. The zoo was unable to integrate Ruby with its elephants, forcing former L.A. mayor James Hahn to call for Ruby’s return. L.A. Zoo has held Ruby off public display since her return in 2004. Sadly, Gita died in June 2006 after suffering for decades from captivity-induced foot and joint disorders.

At the PAWS sanctuary, Ruby will join three other African elephants and have more than 70 acres of grassy, natural landscape to explore. The facility will give Ruby more than 500 times the space of her current enclosure. PAWS has received elephants from zoos in Detroit, San Francisco, and Milwaukee.

One elephant remains at L.A. Zoo, a 21-year-old male Asian elephant named Billy.

The other elephant moved this month is Dulary, a 43-year-old Asian elephant who was transferred from the Philadelphia Zoo, which is closing its elephant exhibit, to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Ten U.S. zoos have closed their elephant exhibits and another two zoos have announced they will soon shutter their elephant displays. Two more zoos, including the Bronx Zoo, will phase out their exhibits.

For more information on IDA’s years-long campaign to move Ruby to a sanctuary, please visit www.HelpElephants.com.