Tusk! Tusk! Toronto is on worst zoo list

2010-01-19

Donovan Vincent, Toronto Star

The Toronto Zoo's three elephants, Toka, Iringa and Thika, call eight indoor pens and a large outdoor "paddock" area their home. In the winter, zoo staff allow them outside as long as the temperature is above freezing.

Elephants do not get jelly beans on the African savannah. Or the services of recreation directors. They also don't get freezing temperatures that confine them to a 37-square-metre space for part of the year.

But those are all part of life for the Toronto Zoo's elephant herd, whose fast-dwindling numbers present a dilemma for their keepers: Bring in fresh blood, or retire Toka, Thika and Iringa to some southern pachyderm haven?

Four elephants have died at the zoo in the past four years, including Tara, who died in November at 41.

A California-based animal rights group calls that an "unprecedented" death rate and ranked Toronto No. 2 on its list of North America's 10 worst zoos for elephants.

Three is the minimum number recommended for the well-being of these highly social animals, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) – which makes Toronto's exhibit just one death away from unhealthy.

And Toka and Iringa are both about 40, making them either middle-aged or senior citizens, depending on which expert you ask.

There are plans to expand and renovate the elephant exhibit, including adding heated floors to accommodate their tender feet. But the price tag is as much as $50 million, at a time when the zoo's 10-year, $250 million fundraising campaign is stalled.

The zoo board says it's committed to keeping the popular animals, but a decision depends on research and a report due next month.

The zoo could bring in elephants from overseas, borrow from a zoo in North America, or close the exhibit.

That last option is preferred by critics such as Rob Laidlaw, executive director of the wildlife protection charity Zoocheck, who thinks Toronto is too cold and its exhibit too small for the elephants' health.

Toronto ranked behind only San Antonio, Texas, in Calif.-based In Defense of Animals' 10 worst zoos list, released Tuesday. Other zoos on the list are in Houston, Topeka, Kan., and Toledo, Ohio.

The group, which based its conclusions on Toronto contacts and media reports, says the zoo's enclosure lacks the space, natural conditions and especially the climate elephants need. Pachyderms are dying at an "unprecedented rate," the group said in a release Tuesday, noting the zoo has lost four elephants "prematurely" in four years – two just last year.

The zoo's interim chief executive, Peter Evans, declined to comment on the list, saying he doesn't want to give credibility to the group's remarks.

The Detroit Zoo closed its pachyderm exhibit in 2004. "Michigan winters are too cold for the elephants to be outside," the zoo said. "They spent the majority of their time inside the building, which ... prevented them from travelling as much as they should." It cited in particular the serious foot problems elephants suffered from standing on cold, hard floors so much of the time.

But Toronto Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, who sits on the Toronto Zoo board, counters that its elephants receive "gold standard" treatment compared with life in the wild, where they might have been culled or poached.

Inside the building, the three females can choose from eight pens, each about 37 square metres, the minimum recommended size. Their outdoor paddock is just less than half a hectare, which is lots of room to roam and luxuriate in, zoo officials argue. Unless it's below freezing.

They're fed seven to a dozen times a day, including a full bale of hay first thing in the morning and as a last meal at night.

Keepers also facilitate "enrichment" activities for the three giant gals, such as letting them play with a barrel, a large ball, a tire or a log, often hoisted to them in large nets.

Each elephant gets a daily session of maintenance and training, at which they undergo what their seven keepers call "behaviours."

"You ask an elephant for her front right foot. She gives you that. Then you check it and wash it," explains Eric Cole, animal care supervisor for the exhibit. "You do it again with her front left foot ... the cue is saying `foot' and pointing to the elephant's foot." Such inspections are vital because foot problems can create serious health issues for elephants.

Successfully executing a command is rewarded with a "treat pouch" filled with chopped fruit and vegetables.

Other behaviours include turning about for an inspection of their hindquarters, opening their mouths, raising their trunks or submitting to injections or blood tests.

Keepers never reach into the elephants' pens when inspecting them. Rather, the elephants move on command toward "ports" – large holes between the bars in their cages for their ears, trunk and feet.

Cole says the elephants do go outside in winter, as long as the temperature is above freezing.

"It's nice to get them out, even in the snow," he explains. Elephants adjust to different environments and "there's no scientific evidence" that cold weather is harmful to them, argues Steve Feldman, a spokesman for the AZA, which accredits the Toronto Zoo.

Feldman said he doesn't believe the Detroit Zoo "represents the consensus view on the subject."

African Lion Safari in Cambridge, which has four elephants, boasts "the most successful breeding program for Asian elephants in North America."

Of 180 zoos accredited by the AZA, 77 have elephants. Of that number, 61 have expanded or are expanding their elephant enclosures, Feldman says. Cleveland, Ohio, for instance, is spending $25 million on its project, while the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., is spending $60 million.

"By far," Feldman adds, "the trend is to commit to elephants and continue to improve the habitats and care provided to them."