Activists To City of Angels

Earn Halo, Close Elephant Exhibit Now
Blame Zoo and City for Premature Death of Ailing Elephant


Los Angeles, CA – Elephant advocates are blaming the zoo and the City of Los Angeles for the death of Tara, a 39-year-old elephant and the fifth captive elephant to die prematurely in a U.S. zoo this year, and are calling for the immediate transfer of L.A. Zoo's surviving elephants to sanctuaries and permanent closure of the elephant exhibit. In Defense of Animals (IDA) says the latest elephant death highlights the captivity-induced health problems created by lack of space and exercise, and the shortened lifespan that zoos inflict on elephants. In recent months, Tara's keepers continued to experiment with a cocktail of painkillers and anti-flammatory pills to mask her painful leg stiffness, swelling, and aggressive arthritis. 

"This would never have happened at a sanctuary where there is 24-hour care, but zoos leave elephants alone for 12 or more hours every night to stand in their own feces and urine which causes tremendous physical problems," says IDA spokesperson RaeLeann Smith. "This pure negligence on the part of the L.A. Zoo is shameful because keepers clearly realized the consequences and risks for Tara."

The Los Angeles Zoo medical records for Tara dated February 8, 2003 state that Tara collapsed and could not get on her feet. The medical log notes, "Keepers came in this am to find Tara down in the pool. Due to her arthritis, she was unable to right herself and get up…. During her recumbancy, she did not struggle much at all. LAPD and Fire Dept. were called in, and using chains and straps they were able to drag her out of the pool where she could be hoisted and righted. This took approx 3.5 hours."

Tara's death further ignites the evolving national debate over zoos' inability to accommodate the needs of Earth's largest land mammals. Elephants need to walk many miles on soft surfaces to maintain good foot, joint, and digestive health. Lack of space and exercise in small zoo enclosures prevent elephants from walking and foraging and forces them to stand on hard, unnatural surfaces, a situation that causes chronic foot infections, arthritis, stereotypic neurotic behaviors and other captivity-induced health problems. Elephants in the wild walk tens of miles a day; yet American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) standards allow an elephant to be confined to space 1800 square feet - the size of 6 parking spaces. A natural lifespan for an elephant is 60-70 years. In zoos they die prematurely, on average at 34 years of age. Infant mortality is also high, and most female elephants "flatline," or stop reproductive cycling, decades before their natural time. In March, two elephants died at U.S. zoos. Kali, a 59-year-old Asian elephant, was euthanized at Utah's Hogle Zoo because of arthritis. Calle, a 38-year-old Asian elephant was euthanized after suffering for years from debilitating ailments caused by decades of captivity at the San Francisco Zoo. Then one month later, Maybelle, a 43-year-old African elephant, died at the San Francisco Zoo under circumstances that remain disputed. Kimba, a 13-year-old Asian elephant, died at the Houston Zoo from viral or bacterial infection. And Tatima, a 35-year-old African elephant, who also suffered a leg condition, died at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo from bacterial infection, possibly related to tuberculosis.