"City Council Made a Jumbo Mistake" - Toronto Star

The following are excerpts from Toronto Star editorials. The excerpts are with regards to Toronto City Council's 24-Oct-2011 decision to send the elephants to PAWS.

Toronto Zoo sale remains worth exploring:

... The other big concern — that council continue to weigh in on animal treatment decisions better left to professionals — is far less defensible. City council made a Jumbo mistake last year when it voted to send three elephants to an unaccredited sanctuary rather than an accredited zoo. In doing so, politicians rejected a decision by the zoo’s board and advice from the zoo’s own experts. That ill-judged move came at the urging of animal rights activists. As a result, the Toronto Zoo was stripped of a prized accreditation issued by the organization that sets standards for most major North American zoos.

When the decision is made whether or not to privatize, maintaining council’s right to meddle shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

     -- source: Toronto Star (29-Aug-2012)

The Toronto Zoo’s departing elephants have squashed its accreditation. Thanks, Bob Barker.:

Toronto City Council made an elephantine mistake last fall and the zoo is suffering the consequences. An international organization [AZA] setting standards for most major North American zoos has stripped the Toronto Zoo of a prized accreditation. And it’s because councillors rejected the advice of the zoo’s expert staff last October [2011] and opted to send three elephants to an unaccredited sanctuary.

... Now the zoo has lost an accreditation it had since 1977. [Councillor] Berardinetti has condemned the AZA for attempting to tell Toronto “what to do with our elephants.” But that’s the organization’s job. Since in its view it is unacceptable to send elephants to an unaccredited facility, the AZA’s action should come as no surprise.

-- source: Toronto Star (20-Apr-2012)

You too can speak out about the elephant decision by signing the petition.

Related post: About (an overview of all the issues)
Related post: The Future of Toronto Zoo Governance (proposed new governance model)
Related post: Speaking Out About the Elephant Decision

Speaking Out About the Elephant Decision

The following are excerpts from the Toronto Star and from the Brantford Expositor with quotations from Vernon Presley (Toronto Zoo elephant keeper), Peter Evans (former Toronto zoo board member) and Wayne Jackson (former Toronto Zoo elephant keeper). These excerpts are with regards to Toronto City Council's 24-Oct-2011 decision to send the elephants to PAWS.

Toronto Star - Zoo keepers fuming over vote sending elephants to sanctuary (26-Oct-2011):

... “No offence to any city (councillors) that made the decision, but they’re quite honestly not qualified to make a decision on what’s best for these elephants,’’ an angry Vernon Presley, one of seven elephant keepers at the [Toronto] zoo, told the Star.

... Peter Evans, a former [Toronto] zoo board member for 12 years, called council’s decision a “slap in the face’’ to the current board and zoo staff. “The arrogance and lack of respect shown and the disregard for the process, is appalling,’’ Evans said.

     -- source: Toronto Star (26-Oct-2011)

Brantford Expositor - The elephant man weighs in on zoo episode (24-Dec-2011):

Wayne Jackson, former zookeeper at the Toronto Zoo, has worked with more than 100 elephants at several zoos around the world.

... "When it comes to such things as zoo animals, it should be the professionals at that particular institution that makes the decision on a particular animal, not someone who really knows nothing about the species or particular animal," said [Wayne] Jackson in his correspondence on [9-Nov-2011 to Mayor Ford].

     -- source: Brantford Expositor (24-Dec-2011)

Global News - Elephant Keeper Speaks Out (Nov-2011)

Elephant Keeper Speaks Out (video);
Vernon Presley, and Councillor and Vice-Chair Paul Ainslie.

     -- source: Global News (Nov-2011)

You too can speak out about the elephant decision by signing the petition.

Zoo's elephant move 'futile:' Lindsay Luby

The following are excerpts from The Globe and Mail and from Toronto Sun with quotations from Toronto City Councillor and Toronto Zoo Board member Gloria Lindsay Luby regarding the Toronto Zoo elephants:

Losing elephants could cost zoo its accreditation (18-Nov-2011)

... the elephant decision [i.e.: Toronto City Council's 24-Oct-2011 decision to send the elephants to PAWS] rankled a few veteran zoo board members. “I was thoroughly disgusted,” said Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby. “This motion usurped the board’s decision-making process. If you’re going to keep doing that, what’s the point of a zoo board? It’s sneaky, it’s unprecedented and not worthy of council.”

       -- The Globe and Mail, 18-Nov-2011

Toronto elephants get more support (26-Apr-2012)

Board member, Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, said sending the elephants to PAWS “was the wrong decision” and “now, I just have to be certain we’re not sending them into something they’re going to get sick in and will shorten their life-span” since “because they’re not an accredited institution, they don’t really have any accountability.”

       -- Toronto Sun, 26-Apr-2012

Zoo's elephant move 'futile:' Lindsay Luby (2-May-2012)

“This whole exercise we are going through has cost us time and money, staff time, the board’s time,” Lindsay Luby said Wednesday. “We’re not saving any money by sending them, I think that has been pretty clear so what are we getting out of it? Nothing, we’re losing three elephants.”

Lindsay Luby said the actual cost of providing food and lodging for the elephants at the Toronto Zoo is quite small and there will be no saving in staff costs once the elephants are gone because those that care for the pachyderms will be redeployed elsewhere in the zoo.

... Lindsay Luby called the entire elephant affair an “exercise in futility for all concerned.”

... “It’s not a matter of Councillor Berardinetti being happy … it’s a matter of the vets being happy, they are the people with the expertise,” she said.

       -- Toronto Sun, 2-May-2012

Toronto Zoo Elephant Keeper Talk

Each day at 12:00pm noon at the Toronto Zoo, you can meet the elephant keepers for informative talks.

The first and second videos below show the elephant keeper doing various exercises with Thika the elephant. In the third video below, Toka was eating some hay while the elephant keeper was answering questions. Sometimes when the elephant keeper gives their talk, the elephants are still inside the elephant house. The fourth video below shows just the elephant keeper giving her educational talk; the elephants came outside several minutes after she had finished answering questions.

The elephants used to have exercise sessions twice a day plus individual walks around the back paddock for about 20-30 minutes. Since crate training, the elephants are exercised once a day, sometimes outside, due to time constraints. The elephants are asked to do the exercises by the keeper using positive re-enforcement.

Video of Elephant Keepers with Thika: (10 minute video)


Video of Elephant Keeper with Thika doing exercises: (2 minute video)


Video of Elephant Keeper (no elephant): (3 minute video)


More: Ele Training 101 (3 short videos; 3 minutes total)

Before visiting the zoo, read the "African elephant" page (ARCHIVED 10-Nov-2012) to learn all about elephants.

Also read "Getting to Know Toka, Thika and Iringa" to learn more about the Toronto Zoo's three female African elephants and how to identify each one.

Getting to Know Toka, Thika and Iringa

Toka:
Toka is a 42 year-old female African Bush elephant. She was born in the wild of Mozambique in 1970. In Sep-1974, she arrived at the Toronto Zoo.

Iringa: (shown in photo at left)
Iringa is a 43 year-old female African Bush elephant. She was born in the wild of Mozambique in 1969. In Nov-1974, she arrived at the Toronto Zoo.

About the name Iringa: The name is derived from the Hehe word lilinga, meaning "fort". There is a city and region in Tanzania named Iringa.

Thika:
Thika is a 32 year-old female African Bush elephant. She was born on 18-Oct-1980 at the Toronto Zoo to parents Tantor(M) and Tequila(F). Thika was the first African elephant born in Canada and the 4th born in North America.

About the name Thika: There are two explanations for the name Thika (pronounced "Thee-ka"; "Thee" as in Theo and Thea). One has its origin in the Kikuyu word Guthika, meaning "to bury". The other explanation comes from the Maasai word Sika meaning "rubbing something off an edge". There is an industrial town in Central Province, Kenya named Thika.

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How to Tell the Elephants Apart:

Click photos to enlarge.

Toka has the long tusks, with left tusk that is broken (shorter than right tusk). She also has a small hole in her left ear. See: Video of Toka.

Iringa is very easy, she has a large rip in her right ear and short stubby tusks. See: Video of Iringa.

The one without these characteristics would be Thika, who is leaner and taller as well. In comparison to Iringa, Thika has longer tusks and hair on her tail, plus she's taller! See: Video of Thika.

    -- source: ZooChat.com

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Note from a Toronto Zoo elephant keeper:

Toka’s enthusiasm is enough to snap any person out of a bad mood, she is eager to please and an amazing elephant to work with.

Iringa is incredibly smart, and has an unwavering faith in us. That faith is a testament to this elephant program that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of.

Thika… well, Thika is a brat… and is the favourite of many keepers because of this.

    -- source: ZooChat.com

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Thika's Birth Announcement (18-Oct-1980, 6:40pm):

Announcing the arrival of Thika, the Toronto Sun, October 27, 1980.
    --source: Torontoist.com

Coincidentally, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada, was born on October 18, 1919.

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Read the About page for an overview of the saga that the Toronto Zoo elephants are going through. Go to About page.

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