Lincoln Park Zoo: Chicago

The death of Wankie in Chicago was the third elephant death
at Chicago's zoo in just under seven months.

Wild Captured

Elephants Wankie and Tatima were part of a group of five elephants wild caught as infants born in 1969 in Zimbabwe. The babies who would have spent their entire lives with the female herd were taken from their mothers before their second birthday and transferred to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (SDWAP) in 1971. In the wild elephants can live to be 70, knowing this makes the premature death of four of the five elephants so tragic. Each elephant died decades sooner than their natural lifespan.

The babies met an older elephant, Peaches who acted as an allo-mother to this young group of elephants in 1976. The three gentle giants, Peaches, Wankie and Tatima, came into my life in 2003 when they were transferred to Lincoln Park Zoo from the SDWAP to make room for younger elephants being captured and brought from Swaziland to the SDWAP.

Transferred from Lifelong Home to Cold Chicago

IDA fought the transfer of the Wankie, Peaches and Tatima and the wild capturing of more elephants in Swaziland with protests, letters, and legal action. Despite our inability to stop the transfer and wild capture which ultimately breaks up families and causes much trauma to the younger elephants being caught, we fought continuously to help Wankie, Peaches and Tatima. We warned zoo officials at the SDWAP and the Lincoln Park Zoo that moving these girls from sunny California to cold Chicago would be a death sentence. I "told you so" is simply not justice enough. Per our predictions, the three girls faired poorly and met untimely deaths.

Tatima Dies Suddenly, Followed by Peaches

When Tatima died in October, we begged zoo officials to save Peaches and Wankie and send them to a sanctuary. The zoo dug their heels in even deeper and in January we were forced to say goodbye to Peaches. I never believed Peaches died of old age and my cynicism was confirmed when we heard news of an elephant birth in Kenya to a mother the same age as Peaches. It makes clear the negative and devastating impact cramped zoo enclosures, unnatural settings and broken social groupings have on elephants. Elephants in the wild can continue to give birth well into their fifties while female elephants in zoo suffer infertility in the twenties and thirties. Once again, the zoos misled the public into believing Peaches lived a long life.

At this point, it seemed unbelievable that Wankie now the sole surviving elephant at the Lincoln Park Zoo would be denied a permanent home at sanctuary where she can choose her companions and begin to heal physically and emotionally. Elephants are like us in many ways like age progression and longevity but most similar is their ability to form lasting bonds. Wankie like all highly intelligent social animals was grieving the loss of her two companions of over three decades. She still had a chance to live a full and enriching life at a sanctuary where her days will be filled with adventure, activity, and companionship.

With each death we held more protests at the zoo and continued to request the full disclosure of medical records, necropsy reports and keeper's logs to get to the bottom of the spate of untimely elephant deaths. And as our coalition grew and the passion and desire to not fail Wankie overshadowed our weary eyes, we continued to make progress.

Alderman Introduces Resolution to Send Wankie to Sanctuary

We met with more than half of the 50 city council members in Chicago and we found a sponsor for our resolution that was presented to the Chicago city council on March 9, 2005. The resolution stated very clearly to the zoos involved in Wankie's fate that Chicagoans wanted Wankie sent to a sanctuary not another zoo and the elephant exhibit at the Lincoln Park Zoo permanently closed.

Campaign Gains Expert and Celebrity Support

IDA obtained written support from experts like Cynthia Moss, Keith Lindsay and Joyce Poole, with a nearly 100 years of combined experience with wild African elephants like Wankie, Peaches and Tatima. In addition zoo industry experts like Les Schobert a 30 year professional zoo curator and Ray Ryan who was the zoo keeper for Wankie, Peaches and Tatima at the SDWAP plead for Wankie's immediate transfer to a sanctuary and the permanent closure of the pathetically inadequate Lincoln Park Zoo elephant exhibit.

Famous comedian and Illinois native Richard Pryor wrote to members of the city council expressing his support and further urged zoo officials to put Wankie's well-being ahead of business interests citing the astonishing and horrific premature death of elephants in our nation's zoo. The zoo environment is killing elephants prematurely. More than half of the 38 elephants who died at American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA)-accredited facilities since 2000 never reached the age of 40.

Because Wankie was technically "owned" by San Diego activists there were working with elected officials and holding protests as well.

Whistleblower Reports Secret Move to Utah

As a testament to the dedicated efforts of thousands, we were even receiving an increased number of calls from whistleblowers working in U.S. zoos. Responding to the growing national debate, they were concerned about the suffering elephants in zoos endure. In April we received a tip that Wankie would be sent to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah, a zoo with an abysmal record of Animal Welfare Violations.

Salt Lake City, San Diego Activists Join the Fight for Wankie

With very few resources, we were able to run simultaneous campaigns in San Diego, Salt Lake City and Chicago. Without the dedication of our many volunteers and committed activists, this unprecedented tri-city effort would not have been possible. We were capturing headlines in all three cities, holding protests and explaining to the public how elephant exhibits in zoos simply can not provide the necessary space for the world's largest land mammals who walks up to 50 miles in the wild. As the public heard for the first time that elephants in zoos were sick, we received overwhelming public support. The zoo industry kept the truth from the public for too long. No one explained to the children visiting zoos that the elephant's head bobbing and swaying was a sign of a psychologically sick elephant, bored and stressed from the inadequate and un-stimulating zoo enclosure.

No zoo would be good enough for Wankie. This special elephant had become the national symbol for the plight of captive elephants. As the nation watched, we reminded zoo officials that not only did they fail Wankie when they participated in her wild capture in the 1970s, and not only did they fail her in 2003 when they irresponsibly dumped her in Chicago to bring younger elephants from San Diego, but continue to fail her each day they delayed her transfer to a sanctuary. They prolonged her isolation and suffering by once again putting their selfish business interests ahead of her well-being. Wankie was still grieving the loss of the only family she's known for decades and has been forced to live alone for three months when she could have been peacefully settled into her new sanctuary home. The very industry that is responsible for her care continued to repeatedly fail her.

Secret Move Proves Deadly

The zoo's bad behavior continued as they once again behaved unethically. In a concerted effort to circumvent a public hearing to discuss sending Wankie to a sanctuary scheduled for May 12, 2005 in Chicago, Lincoln Park Zoo collaborated with SDWAP and Hogle Zoo to ship Wankie out before the media and public could hear testimony comparing zoos to sanctuaries, fully knowing zoo living would pale in comparison to the accommodations provided to elephants at one of the two U.S. sanctuaries. Despite letters from around the globe and an official request from resolution sponsor Alderman George Cardenas to halt Wankie's transfer to Hogle Zoo until after the hearing, the Lincoln Park Zoo in conjunction with SDWAP and Hogle Zoo under a shroud of secrecy rushed Wankie's move.

Wankie, the last of three elephants at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, suffered horribly before her untimely end Sunday, May 1. In their rush to transport grief-stricken Wankie the zoo industry failed her a final time. Partway into the 1,400 mile trek from Chicago to Utah, Wankie reportedly collapsed in Nebraska. Having been down the remainder of the trip, Wankie had to be dragged from the crate and euthanized.

Evidence suggests Wankie's death was the direct result of a poorly planned and executed transport and therefore preventable. It is incredible that the zoo continued transporting Wankie for 13 hours while she was down: Elephants cannot stay down for extended periods as lying in a certain positions interferes with their ability to breathe properly and the weight can crush their internal organs. The zoo should have had a contingency plan and been prepared to make an emergency stop at another zoo or other facility along the route. Under no circumstances should they have continued transporting Wankie while she was down.

Section 3.140 of the Animal Welfare Act, Care in Transit, states that during surface transportation, "[t]he carrier shall provide any needed veterinary care as soon as possible. No animal in obvious physical distress shall be transported in commerce." We also believe that, in their haste to move Wankie, they did not properly acclimate her to a transport container. They also used a crate, rather than a specially-designed elephant trailer, which may not have allowed keepers sufficient access to the elephant at all times during transport. We also suspect that Wankie may have been sedated. Sedatives could have contributed to her collapse and breathing problems. Again, numerous indications of bad decision making that resulted in the suffering of Wankie.

We have called for disclosure of all records, the resignation of the zoo directors at Lincoln Park Zoo and SDWAP and a permanent ban on any future elephant exhibit at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Bios

Wankie, Tatima, and Peaches were part of a group of five elephants wild caught as infants in Zimbabwe (born in 1969 and caught that same year, according to the American Zoo & Aquarium Association/Species Survival Plan African elephant stud book) and all were transferred to San Diego Wild Animal Park in 1971. Of the five, only one remains alive. Peaches, Wankie and Tatima were transferred to Lincoln Park Zoo in April 2003.

It is likely that as the older elephant, Peaches acted as an allo-mother to this young group of elephants. Peaches was born in 1950, caught in 1952, and transferred to San Diego Zoo in 1953. She was later transferred to San Diego Wild Animal Park in 1976. Peaches died in January 2005 at age 55 at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Wankie - Died in May 2005 (age 36) upon arrival at Hogle Park Zoo, Utah; cause of death not known at this time.

Tatima - Died in October 2004 (age 35) at Lincoln Park Zoo; reportedly from a TB-related infection.

What You Can Do

- Click here to learn more about IDA's ongoing campaign to help elephants in Chicago and in inadequate zoo enclosures around the U.S.

- Read the excellent article recently published in The NewStandard, "Chicago Considers Banning Mistreatment of Elephants" by Kari Lydersen.

- If you live in Chicago, please contact Kristie Phelps at kristie@idausa.org to learn how you can support your city's Elephant Protection Ordinance.