Woodland Park Zoo could improve conditions of captivity for its three elephants by allowing them to have free contact with each other and replacing some concrete floors with sand, a panel of animal experts recommended Wednesday.
Overall, the zoo provides excellent care for its elephants, according to the 41-page report.
The six-member panel, chaired by Bryan Slinker, a zoo-board member, veterinarian and dean at Washington State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, shared its findings Wednesday evening with a 15-member task force that is examining the future of the zoo’s elephant exhibit.
The inquiry was sparked by a citizen petition to the zoo, signed by 7,500 people, as well as thousands of emails calling for an investigation after a Seattle Times two-part series, “Glamour Beasts,” which revealed that elephants are dying out in America’s accredited zoos.
The national zoo industry has claimed for decades that elephants are thriving inside America’s zoos. But The Times found that for every elephant born, on average two others die. Just 288 elephants were left inside 78 accredited U.S. zoos.
The Times reported that zoo keepers have tried to artificially inseminate one of its Asian elephants, Chai, at least 112 times, based on medical records and staff logs.
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