{"id":29800,"date":"2013-10-16T00:02:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T10:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/?p=29800"},"modified":"2013-10-16T08:41:07","modified_gmt":"2013-10-16T18:41:07","slug":"health-problems-of-zoo-elephants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/health-problems-of-zoo-elephants\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Problems Of Zoo Elephants"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Honolulu Zoo has two Asian elephants, Mari and Vigai, both doing well. Photo courtesy Honolulu Zoo<\/p><\/div>\n

There are about 290 elephants living in zoo captivity in the U.S. – two of them here. We’ve had nine over the years at our city-operated Honolulu Zoo. Five died. Two were relocated.<\/p>\n

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claims the up to 15,000-pound pachyderms suffer chronic ailments, emotional trauma and premature death in zoos. A Seattle Times <\/I>probe found that the infant mortality rate in captivity is triple that in the wild.<\/p>\n

So zoos have been increasingly under fire for their elephant exhibits.<\/p>\n

Now we have a new, three-year, $800,000 study on elephant welfare in zoos through a federal grant administered by Kathy Carlstead, director of research and conservation at Honolulu Zoo. The 27-member team included zoo professionals and faculty members from three universities. They went through medical records, 2,500 hours of elephant-in-zoo videos and fecal samples from 40,000 pounds of elephant dung.<\/p>\n

The report is mainly a “how to keep elephants healthy” handbook and doesn’t address the largely emotional issue of captivity of these big and beloved animals. Nor does it point fingers at any specific zoos.<\/p>\n

It does refute claims of frequent elephant foot problems at zoos. The majority has none. But it agrees that concrete or stone enclosures create more foot issues.<\/p>\n

And the more exercise, the better the creatures’ body conditions. The study recommends more frequent meals throughout the day and unpredictable timing of those meals.<\/p>\n

We’ve all seen zoo elephants standing and swaying. They seem bored. The study says they need bigger spaces, more interaction with zoo staff, a choice of staying outdoors overnight and some time spent with younger elephants.<\/p>\n

But the anti-captivity clamor continues.<\/p>\n

That Seattle Times <\/I>probe went on to say: “Publicly, the zoo industry continues to claim today that elephants are thriving inside zoos. It’s a message that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has delivered repeatedly to lawmakers and regulators, trumpeted in news releases and highlighted in a recent national marketing campaign. But they know it’s not true. And it never has been.<\/p>\n

“Rather, the decades-long effort by zoos to preserve and protect elephants is failing, exacerbated by substandard conditions and denial of mounting scientific evidence that most elephants do not thrive in captivity.”<\/p>\n

Elephants historically were kept for display in Egypt, China, Greece and Rome. The Romans pitted them against humans and other animals in gladiator events.<\/p>\n

\n

C’mon, guys! Won’t somebody at the top recognize that University of Hawaii isn’t up to NCAA Division I FBS football? We don’t have the recruits or the money to play with the big boys.<\/p>\n

Yes, there was a time (1924-25) of two undefeated seasons under coach Otto Klum, and we even beat Colorado, Colorado State and Washington. But they were small-time programs.<\/p>\n

Then, in 1961, UH Board of Athletic Control abolished the football program because of its debt. It was restored a year later.<\/p>\n

I wouldn’t kill it. I’d certainly downgrade it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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