California may be the most populous state, but it will soon lose a large number of residents.
After 20 years living at the Oakland Zoo, the park's last remaining African elephant, Osh, will be relocated to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee later this year, the zoo announced in a news release.
There is hope that once Osh, a 30-year-old male pachyderm, arrives at the sanctuary, he will be reunited with Donna, the zoo's last remaining female African elephant who was relocated there last year.
The decision to relocate Osh was made after consultation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' African Elephant Taxon Advisory Group, the zoo said. It was decided that moving Osh to the sanctuary was in the best interest of her welfare and would provide her with more social opportunities.
The zoo estimates it will take about 40 hours to transport the 15,000-pound, 11-foot-2-inch-tall elephant to its new home about 60 miles southwest of Nashville later this year.
Animal activists say they have won the zoo's announcement and the closure of the elephant exhibit, saying it supports arguments that keeping elephants in captivity causes the animals to suffer and die prematurely.
Former residents Lisa, M'Dunda and Donna at the Oakland Zoo.
(Steven L. Gotz/ Oakland Zoo)
Last year, In Defense of Animals, an animal protection organization, identified the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden as the worst zoo for elephants in the U.S. The zoo has a 6.65-acre elephant exhibit that houses its two Asian bull elephants, Billy and Tina, who have been there since 1989 and 2010, respectively.
“Due to his confined and unnatural existence in an insignificantly sized exhibit, Billy’s body and mind deteriorate further with each passing year,” In Defense of Animals wrote on its website.
In May, the Los Angeles City Council asked the zoo to examine how it cares for its elephants and identify necessary changes after two of its Asian elephants, Jewel and Shaunzi, had to be euthanized within a year.
Los Angeles Zoo officials said their elephants receive the highest level of care and euthanasia is only performed after all other options have been exhausted.
Jewel, 61, was euthanized because her “quality of life continued to decline,” while Shaunzi, 53, was euthanized because of “her age.” [and] past medical history [and] her inability to right herself with supportive efforts to lift her,” zoo officials said.
A Los Angeles Zoo spokesman said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to euthanize the elephants “was based on a poor prognosis and acute health decline resulting from age-related medical conditions.”
Since 1991, dozens of zoos have closed their elephant exhibits, including the San Francisco Zoo, the Santa Barbara Zoo, the Sacramento Zoo and the Monterey Zoo.
