Canadian Zoos
Parc Safari Zoo - Quebec
This Quebec facility is located near Montreal. It is a privately owned facility and is CAZA accredited. The elephant enclosure is located in the drive-through section of the park. According to the elephant studbook, this facility has housed 7 African elephants over the years, only three are still alive.
According to the Asian Elephant studbook, Parc Safari currently has 3 Asian elephants:
- Churchill - male wild caught (no country of origin listed), estimated year of birth (EYB) 1974
- Carole - female, wild caught in Zimbabwe, EYB 1983
- Junot (a.k.a Michael) - male wild caught in Zimbabwe, EYB 1983
The following elephants are marked as having died in the records:
- Semo - male wild caught (no country listed) EYB 1969, died 1984, had a baby Tess - who was transferred to another zoo at 19 months old
- Mary - female, wild caught (no country listed) EYB, 1969, died 1985
- Root - female, wild caught (no country listed), EYB 1969, died 1990
- Majestica - male, wild caught (no country listed), EYB 1970, moved or died, no details given but he is no longer at PS
I visited on a chilly (approximately 14º C), damp morning on the 13th of September, 2006. Two adult African elephants were on display in the elephant enclosure. The male was probably 23 year old Michael from Zimbabwe. The female’s identity was more difficult to guess as she certainly looked older than 23, which is Carole’s age according to the studbook. When I arrived at the enclosure the elephants were standing just outside the gate that led to the barn as if begging to be let in, probably to seek relief from the cold, damp weather. Except for worn, packed dirt paths, the outdoor enclosure was mostly grass covered but had no trees. There were rocks all around the enclosure and at the one end was a pool of water.
The fencing around the elephant enclosure consists of hot wires strung horizontally around the perimeter with deer fencing outside of the wires. If an elephant were sufficiently motivated to leave the enclosure, this fencing would not hold the elephants inside.
After about 15 minutes of observing the elephants standing outside the barn, the male then started to walk towards the pool of water along what appeared to be a well used path. The female just stood at the same spot, swaying her head and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. After a while she turned very slowly and started to follow. She made slow steps and appeared to be stiff and sore. It appeared that she may be suffering from arthritis related pain and possible foot infections. She also kept stopping to rub her right breast. Meanwhile the male stopped to scoop some soil from a hole near the pool of water. Eventually, the female got to where the male was scooping soil and she joined in. After a few minutes, the male suddenly started to walk towards the barn and the female followed slowly behind. While standing near the barn entrance, the female flinched periodically as though experiencing weakness in her legs.
Records show that the elephants and a number of other animals in this zoo have been in quarantine since 1993 due to bovine tuberculosis. This is not really surprising, given the very cold temperatures that the animals here have to endure. It is quite surprising to learn from Zoocheck that, even with the TB problem, the zoo still has rented elephants on site for elephant rides. There was no keeper in sight and the elephants stood for a long period of time near the barn door. It started to drizzle and there was no visible sheltered area for the elephants to escape the rain or wind chill.
While the Parc Safari elephant enclosure was somewhat larger than others I have visited in Canada, it is still a small fraction of the size of the enclosure at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and thousands of times smaller than the area used by elephants in the wild. Three elephants cannot be described as anything close to a natural social grouping. Furthermore, the climate in Quebec, particularly in the winter, is inappropriate for elephants and the female is showing signs of physical distress likely caused by an arthritic condition and possible foot problems.