Lucy gets room to exercise in winter, activists aren’t impressed
By Jeremy Jagodzinski
EDMONTON — Life for Lucy the elephant is a bit better now that she’ll be exercising inside if it’s too cold outdoors, but those fighting to relocate her remain unsatisfied.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo had committed to improving upon the physical spaces available to its elephant before the new year in response to suggestions made by Edmonton’s Humane Society.
Lucy the elephant lets out a groan while out for her first walk of the day around the zoo grounds with her handler at the Edmonton Valley Zoo in Edmonton, on Feb.5, 2012. Photograph by Jeremy Jagodzinski.
“On the rare days when the weather dictates she can’t walk around the grounds, like last week for instance, she does exercise in a climate controlled animal care structure,” said Debi Winwood, communications officer at the zoo in regards to mid-January’s plunge to -35 C.
“It’s new this winter and it responds to the Edmonton Humane Society’s recommendation to ensure that Lucy can exercise all year round.”
Only 100 metres behind Lucy’s pen, north of the Saito Interpretive Centre, the large grey oval structure is an open area 80 by 50 feet wide and stands 28 feet tall.
Features include insulated walls, a soft sand floor and a skylight to let in natural light. Because of its generic design, any animal can have their specific needs met to exercise despite low temperatures.
This means that cold weather will no longer prevent Lucy from taking the three walks she needs each day to help her lose the excess weight she carries.
The zoo has also refurbished Lucy’s smaller indoor home with thick matting for comfort and warmth as well as plenty of sand to lie on.
Nonetheless, such efforts make little difference to those who disapprove of the zoo’s guardianship of Lucy.
“There’s a number of things going against them,” said Gert Zagler, founder of the Friends of Lucy group. “Lucy’s originally from Sri Lanka and as the temperature falls quite low she can’t go outside. There’s a space issue: there just isn’t the terrain, the enrichment for her to thrive.”
Each side evaluates Lucy’s access to space and protection from cold differently because they disagree as to where Lucy should be housed during her later years.
“Lucy continues to do well,” said Winwood. “She’s 36 years old, so she’s content and well-adjusted and her health is stable.”
But just like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), which has been fighting the zoo in the courts, Zagler wants to have Lucy moved to a large elephant sanctuary in the U.S. to live with others of her kind.
Lucy the elephant out for her first walk of the day around the zoo grounds with her handler at the Edmonton Valley Zoo in Edmonton, on Feb.5, 2012. Photograph by Jeremy Jagodzinski.
“If an elephant is a herd animal and thrives in more temperate climates, how can you argue that California wouldn’t be a better place for Lucy?” said Zagler.
Another group called In Defense of Animals recently ranked the Valley Zoo the worst in North America in its annual list of the “10 Worst Zoos for Elephants.” Although it’s an unofficial list, results were based on lack of space, frigidity of the climate and the quality of living space.
The city disputes the criticism.
“The city of Edmonton takes great exception to the continued misinformation of the care Lucy receives at the Valley Zoo,” said Winwood. “She receives excellent care here and the Valley Zoo complies with all applicable regulatory and legislative standards.”
President of the Voice for Animals Humane Society in Edmonton and PETA’s co-plaintiff against the zoo, Tove Reece, says she’s as concerned for Lucy’s mental health as she is for her physical well-being.
“Some kind of tent or whatever they’ve set up down there is just not enough,” said Reece. “The thing is that in the summer she can go outside and walk around her enclosure, but she doesn’t do it, she just stands still… I just think she’s lonely and bored.”
This past fall, Reece, PETA and Zoocheck had petitioned the Supreme Court to review the decision made by the Court of Appeal to dismiss their case. But there’s no indication of how long they’ll be waiting on an answer.
In the meantime, Reece will continue her fight in other ways.
“We will probably keep up doing some protests,” said Reece. “But I’m hoping at some point we can approach the city councillors again to see if there’s anybody there who might be open [to help].”
For those wanting to know more about Lucy and how the Valley Zoo addresses her specific needs, the Edmonton Valley Zoo offers 20-minute “Elephant Talks” every Sunday until Feb. 26 and again on Saturdays and Sundays from March 3 to April 29 at 11 a.m.
jagodzinskij@mymail.macewan.ca
Who in their right mind believes that an animal from a tropical climate is happy to be in Edmonton where the winters are long and often very cold. Disgusting. She should be going to PAWS and have the friendship of other eles of her own kind, space to roam and play. This is worse than a jail sentence.
Although Lucy may be receiving good care in the eyes of the keepers, she is still imprisoned alone in a too small enclosure in a cold climate. For the city of Edmonton to take take exception to the criticism of her doomed existance just shows the ignorance of the politicians. Experts agree that elephants needs space and companions to thrive. Sadly for Lucy she has neither and shame on us for perpetuating her suffering.
A lone elephant in an unsuitable climate and with an inadequate habitat is NOT “content and well-adjusted.” Two elephant sanctuaries have offered homes for Lucy where she would have the care, habitat, enrichment, and elephant companionship she needs and deserves. Allowing Lucy to continue to exist in the conditions she is subjected to at the zoo is cruel – release this beautiful intelligent girl to a sanctuary where all her needs can be provided for.
“Life for Lucy the elephant is a bit better now ” A bit better?? This is the best we can do for this animal?? Lucy has a quality of life of about a – 5, so now she is at a – 4 with her new exercise tent. Excercise tent? Sounds rediculous doesn’t it?? Yes, the zoo keepers are doing the best they can with the situation poor Lucy is sentenced to, but that doesn’t change her circumstances. She is stuck in an inadequate enclosure with no other elephants in an extremely cold enviroment which is not natural to her. She needs room to roam and 3 walks a day doesn’t change that. I agree with the other commenters….this is shameful. The best day of her life will come when either she dies here, or we have the good sense and COMPASSION to send her elsewhere. Thank you
Always boils down to money. Lucy = gate admissions/money. The drive for money usually makes people make bad decisions. Having an elephant ALONE and in a northern (read COLDER) climate walking on cement… is just totally WRONG…and her caregivers know it. But they want their job and paycheque and it goes around and around…just like Lucy in her enclosure or ridiculous tent.
I think it’s great that Lucy is at the zoo! Go down there and watch the crowds of children who love her all year-round. A zoo is about education as much as anything and I’ve been there to see hordes of children pressed against the fence amazed to see an elephant in person, to be able to relate to her and learn from her – that’s what it’s about.
I believe her keepers care for Lucy a lot and do a lot for her, both in activities and exercise. If she’s lonely I’d rather the zoo get a second elephant to join her instead of trying to send her away somewhere which would likely kill her.
I look forward to seeing Lucy the next time I visit the zoo!
@Troy: You clearly know nothing about elephants and their needs…her welfare is more important than “hordes of children” watching a lonely elephant waste away in prison. The children would get more education about elephants just watching the web cams the 2 sanctuaries in the U.S. have set up for people to view how elephants behave in a natural habitat with their own kind.
Jeremy: as a journalist you should be ashamed of yourself for being so biased. You put on the illusion that you care about Lucy yet you will only tell the city/zoo’s side of the story. I know for a fact that a supporter of moving Lucy gave you an interview along with contact information for myself so we could tell you the other side of the issue yet you never contacted me, nor did you ever respond to the email I wrote you in October after you requested a response from certain commentors on another pro-zoo article you wrote. That tells me that you don’t give a damn about Lucy and are only interested in spreading the nonsense the city/ zoo feeds you.
@Troy: If this is the way children are taught how elephants live and thrive in their natural habitat then we are doing our children a great disservice. The beauty of elephants is that they live in herds, females stay with the family helping to raise the babies. Grandmother, moms, aunts, sisters stay together, they celebrate births and mourns deaths. They travel miles in a day grazing. They swim, they play in mud and dust themselves with dirt to keep the bugs off. THAT is how elephants live when not in captivity. To think that children stand and look at poor Lucy who was stolen away by force from that loving enviroment to the nightmare of this enclosure is sad. If you want to educate your children about the lives of elephants…..google it!! See for yourself the natural beauty and wonder of elephants. It most assuredly is not represented at this zoo. Thank you.
What it comes down to is that in the past 40 years – the length of the Amboseli Research Project – we have learned that elephants have brains larger, and just as complicated, as ours. They communicate seismically and by infrasound in ways we are only starting to understand. The females are MORE social than humans, and even the males are more social than we thought. Physically, they never stand on hard surfaces in their own excrement for 14 hours a day, staring at a wall – in the wild, they spend 20 hours a day awake and decision-making, interacting and caring for themselves and their families. Once you learn all this, you cannot stand by, because you begin to understand the level of pain and deprivation this creature Lucy is suffering. Sometimes, you can get very emotional about it – but the knowledge is based on hard science, and it’s there for anyone who cares to look. Here’s a place to start – http://www.elephantvoices.org ( I can’t help but say Hi! to Echo on the bottom left – I feel that I knew her like a sister, from all I’ve read and seen of her and her family. . )
I remained perplexed how creating a “bit better” life for Lucy under recommendations/requirements from the Edmonton Humane Society is good enough – good enough for anyone that cares about animals? or good enough for Lucy? I argue it is not! Lucy is a female elephant – her kind live in social groupings – not isolated and confined to a life of boredom so that humans can stare at her for their enjoyment. The Zoo does NOT comply with all applicable legislative and regulatory standards as suggested – the zoo has sought exemption (and been granted) from a very key standard citing “ill-health” as a reason that it is ok to keep her alone. The Alberta Standards for Zoos states that “All animals must be maintained in numbers sufficient to meet their social and behavioural needs (unless a single specimen is biologically correct for that animal).” In the case of female elephants, that number is a minimum of 3. As to “il-health”, the Zoo cannot substantiate it and continue to refuse to allow world-renowned experts/veterinarians access to Lucy to truly assess the situation (at absolutely no cost to the City or its taxpayers). Again, I ask – why is that? what is there that the Zoo or City does not want the public to know? That Lucy is, in fact, well enough to be transported to a sanctuary where she can live out her remaining 30+ years with other elephants in a more temperate climate …. instead of wasting away, bored and lonely, before the eyes of staring Edmontonians?
I agree with JayP – this really does boil down to money. Anyone who truly cares for this beautiful girl can see that this is the worst environment for her…but yet, she is still here! Why is that? Because ignorant people continue to take their children to this pathetic zoo to be thrilled by and “learn about” animals. What a crock. Shame on anyone who supports this despicable zoo!