Marianne Bessey
is a member of Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants
Just last month, the Philadelphia Zoo confirmed plans to breed its two younger African elephants as part of continuing "elephant-conservation efforts" and estimated costs of a new elephant exhibit at $27 million. This week, South African officials announced that thousands of African elephants would be killed starting May 1 to reduce an alleged overpopulation of elephants in that country.
Firmly establishing that African elephants have no problem breeding in the wild, South Africa's elephant population grew from 8,000 in 1994, when the government banned killing elephants to control the numbers, to more than 20,000 today. Officials say the growth of the elephant population is threatening the viability of other species in the area.
There are alternatives to the mass killings, but they all take money. Nonhormonal contraceptives can be administered from a helicopter at an estimated annual cost of less than $200,000. The contraceptives are effective and have shown no side effects. Range manipulation and translocation of elephants to less-populated areas are other nonlethal options that are difficult, but not impossible. At any rate, killing elephants to reduce the population is a short-term solution at best, because the population will eventually increase again.
Under the guise of "conservation," zoos are planning to spend millions to breed more of the same elephants scheduled to be killed in South Africa. The Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Zoos partnered for the proposed International Conservation Center to be built in central Pennsylvania, with the Philadelphia Zoo's providing its two younger elephants, Kallie and Bette, for a "breeding loan" and scheduling a one-way trip there for a third, the 52-year-old Petal.
At the breeding facility, these sensitive animals will (1) be dominated with bull hooks, a fireplace-poker-like device, (2) be forcibly impregnated in an attempt to produce more elephants for display, and (3) never be allowed to roam free at any time (the facility's fencing is not elephant-proof). Millions of dollars will be spent at this breeding center, though not a cent will go toward true elephant conservation: the preservation of elephants in their native countries.
In addition to diverting resources from true conservation, captive breeding is abysmally unsuccessful. Just last month, an elephant at a Texas zoo died while giving birth. The baby also died. In fact, since 2001, at least 14 elephant pregnancies have ended in stillbirth or other complications, including death of a calf during labor, euthanasia of a premature calf, and failure to thrive. Yet, zoos continue to spend millions of dollars to breed elephants for display in the hope of winning the elephant lottery: a baby elephant, who will bring in droves of customers.
Mass killings like the one in South Africa potentially could be avoided if zoos would stop wasting millions on captive breeding and look beyond their own business interests. Zoos' focus should be to work with the range countries on long-term solutions to help elephant families survive in their native homes.
That
is true conservation.