City Council votes to support Brendan's decision to not allow Tembo and Sunda to retire to the sanctuary

Tembo and Sunda Update

OK everyone—the sad news is that the Topeka City Council voted unanimously on October 23, 2012,  to support the Zoo’s decision to keep Tembo & Sunda in the same inadequate enclosure until they die.  

City Manager Colson started out by saying they had received 9,000 emails.  He said  ”We’ve been  pushing back against these groups.  If we believed that there was a better place, we would have recommended it.  We do not have an elephant crisis.  Through the process we have identified improvements we can make".  (Perhaps we can take comfort in the massive support we got from around the world  and that maybe these “improvements” would not have happened if we hadn’t pushed.) 

Sadly, those who spoke in favor of keeping Tembo and Sunda at the zoo clearly did not understand the core issue, i.e., human beings do not have the right to keep elephants behind bars for their entire lives simply for human entertainment.  The fact that Tembo and Sunda were stolen from their families in Africa and Asia as babies makes it all the more shameful that freedom has been denied to them in their final few years.  Add to that the strong likelihood that their mothers and aunts were gunned down in order to capture them, and elephants don't forget such things.  In fact, it has been documented that elephants can suffer from PTSD just like humans. 

Brendan Wiley, the Zoo's Director, said adding one or two elephants, so that if one dies the other will not be alone, is expensive and not sustainable.  Regarding an expansion, he said he would like to have a “true elephant conservation breeding and education facility”, but that he couldn’t discuss this because it would depend on so many unknown factors.  He said they consulted 15 professionals (all zoo industry people mind you) and they all agreed Tembo & Sunda should stay at the Topeka Zoo due to familiarity, age and good health.  They also recommended to “leave them here, but do it better".  He said they will become better elephant managers, use the existing space and turn it into something better.  "We have a new philosophy, i.e, respect the natural tendencies of elephants and meet their needs 24 hours a day.  It is the “habitat concept” i.e., stimulate behavior while they are awake and a comfy place to sleep.  We want to “allow elephants to be elephants all day long.”  He said working from this philosophy would “create a foundation from which to determine the future.”

The interesting thing about the language being used is that it appears there is a growing awareness that elephants need more than just a barren cage.  It is our job as activists to keep this consciousness growing among the public until we reach the tipping point where it is finally realized that zoos cannot "allow elephants to be elephants" so long as they are housed in inadequate environments such as zoos and circuses. That is not because the keepers and administrators do not care.  Some do.  No, it is because: (1) Zoos simply aren't large enough to provide what elephants need, and if they did, people would not be able to see them.  They would be too far away, keeping their distance from the noisy crowds, and (2) Because the very word "allow" implies that we have the right to dominate and control these majestic animals and deprive them of their freedom.  And in truth, we do not have that right.

Thanks to PAWS and The Elephant Sanctuary, there are now two elephant sanctuaries in the U.S. where retired elephants, if they're lucky enough to be retired from zoos & circuses, can have some semblance of the freedom and dignity they once knew.  Without these sanctuaries, there would be no options for these elephants in North America except captivity and deprivation. 

It doesn't look like Tembo and Sunda will know a few years of freedom before they die as we had hoped and worked for over the last five years.  It is heart breaking and truly sad that those in power over these elephants could not see beyond their own selfish wants.  For now, we will continue to monitor their care and visit with Brendan Wiley to observe the "improvements" to their cage. 

In the meantime, our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who took the time to write, to send emails, to make phone calls and to those who showed up at all the City Council meetings and voiced your support to retire these elderly elephants. 

Through the Eyes of an Elephant

Please attend the two public meetings that the Zoo Directer is hosting regarding the future of Tembo & Sunda

First Meeting -- Tuesday, October 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Big Gage Shelterhouse in Gage Park

Second Meeting -- Saturday, October 13 at 2:00 p.m. in the Gary Clarke Living Classroom at the Topeka Zoo

Please contact City Officials and the Zoo Director

and let them know you want Tembo & Sunda retired to The Elephant Sanctuary.

New Topeka City Manager, Jim Colson:
jcolson@topeka.org
785-368-3725

Topeka City Council Members:
council@topeka.org
785-368-3710

Zoo Director, Brendan Wiley:
bwiley@topeka.org
785-368-9180

Topeka Library meeting re: The Elephant Sanctuary Q&A

Join AOK for our second public meeting on Thursday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. at the Topeka Library where we will show an informational video on The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN, discuss the situation with Sunda's foot disease and the recent complaint that was filed on her behalf to the USDA, and answer any questions you may have regarding retiring Tembo & Sunda from the Topeka Zoo to this Sanctuary.   

Topekans, the Topeka City Council members, the Zoo Director and City Manager need to hear from you!  Please e-mail them at the e-mail addresses below, and let them know as a citizen of Topeka, you want the best for Tembo & Sunda which is to take them off display at the Topeka Zoo and retire them to The Elephant Sanctuary.  These elephants need your voices.

Thank you. 

This email will go to all City Council members:   council@topeka.org
This email will go to Dan Stanley, City Manager:   dstanley@topeka.org
This email will go to Brendan Wiley, Director of the Zoo:  bwiley@topeka.org

Other ways to contact them:  To write or call any or all city council members this page has their home addresses, emails, and phone numbers.  It is their job to respond to the concerns of their constituents.  Remember, the city owns the zoo.  The council can make this honorable decision to send Tembo and Sunda to The Elephant Sanctuary.  

Even if you are not from Topeka, please contact these council members and voice your concerns as potential tourists and visitors to Topeka.   

Why Retire Tembo and Sunda from the Topeka Zoo to The Elephant Sanctuary?

Here are just a few compelling and urgent reasons why Tembo and Sunda should be given the gift of freedom to live their remaining years at The Elephant Sanctuary:

Poor health and possibility of premature death at the zoo: Tembo and Sunda are running out of time. They shouldn’t have to wait any longer. Sunda, the 49+-year-old Asian elephant suffers chronic foot disease and shows “deterioration of digits” (bones) in one foot (Topeka Zoo Program Manual).  40-year old Tembo also suffers from foot problems caused by lack of space and long hours standing on hard surfaces. Both have chronic temporal gland abscesses and experience severe psychological stress. That is why they rock back and forth and display neurotic, repetitive behaviors that are never seen in free elephants. These and other problems in captive elephants cause tremendous suffering and premature death. Foot problems are among the leading reasons for euthanizing elephants in captivity. No one wants these elephants to die at the zoo, but it is a very real possibility.

In 2000, the Topeka Zoo’s AZA accreditation was tabled, and in 2001 it was tabled again for six months due to low level of staffing and resultant concern about adequacy of veterinary care, the need for more training (to bring employees up to industry standards), and the need for completion of training for the elephant care staff and the need to improve management/staff relations.

In 2002, the zoo was trying to fill 12 keeper positions at the same time. However, the AZA apparently accredited the zoo that year. The recent 2009 AZA inspection continued to cite personnel problems, the need for more veterinary care, and serious morale problems among employees. The USDA 2009 inspection found numerous problems associated with animal care. This further underlines the urgency of getting the elephants to a sanctuary. At a sanctuary, the soft soil and wide open spaces in which to roam will arrest their foot deterioration and bring healing both physically and psychologically. The USDA also cited them for inadequate health records, so these elephants may be even sicker than we know.

Lack of Space: The Topeka Zoo provides less than 3/4 of an acre for the world's largest land mammal that travel tens of miles a day in the wild. City of Topeka spokesman, David Bevens told the media “The elephant yard is what it is…We’re providing the best exhibit that we can within the limited space that we have at that site.” Catherine Doyle of In Defense of Animals responded, “When ‘the best we can’ causes this kind of suffering, it’s time to recognize it isn’t nearly enough.”

Climate: Elephants are tropical animals not suited to Topeka’s long, frigid winters. Tembo and Sunda will spend the majority of their time indoors in tiny cages during the winter months, which greatly exacerbates foot problems.  Zoo visitors are unable to view the elephants when they are indoors. The huge expense to keep the elephants goes on every month even though the public cannot see them for nearly half the year.

Species Differences: Tembo is African and Sunda is Asian, a mix not recommended due to behavioral differences between the species. In fact, zoo records show that Tembo and Sunda have regularly displayed aggression towards one another, sometimes resulting in injuries (see Medical History link).

Retirement: Sunda has been on display at Topeka Zoo for more than 45 years, and Tembo for more than 35 years. The photo above shows them in their cage where they  were housed for many years prior to building the new elephant barn, which is slightly bigger. For decades, these elephants were chained almost 24/7. These elephants deserve a chance to retire with dignity to a facility where they can live out their lives much closer to the way nature intended. Elephants, like human beings, live in multi-faceted societies. They are highly intelligent, possess complex needs and emotions, have exceptional memory and live unusually long lives. They can remember other individuals after more than a decade of separation, and are capable of emotions such as joy, anger, grief, sympathy, playfulness and revenge. Numerous scientific observations suggest that: (1) Elephants recognize their own image in a mirror indicating that elephants are self-aware, (2) Elephants have the capacity for both empathy and anticipatory planning, including the possibility of imagining future events such as pain to themselves and others; they mourn when one of them dies and (3) Elephants suffer long-term psychological effects of trauma and abuse which may be expressed in the form of inappropriate and hostile behavior. Everything that is important to elephants is lacking in a zoo environment.

Elephant Exhibit Closures: To date, 22 zoos have closed or plan to close their elephant exhibits, including major urban zoos in Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and Anchorage. Eleven zoos have sent 15 elephants to sanctuaries. Most of the zoos are still AZA-accredited.

AZA, USDA, and Sanctuaries: There are two USDA licensed sanctuaries in the U.S.—The Elephant Sanctuary and The Performing Animal Welfare Sanctuary. They are not zoos so they do not need AZA accreditation. The conditions at the sanctuaries far exceed AZA standards. The zoo does not need approval from the AZA or the USDA to retire the elephants. Because both Tembo and Sunda are beyond the age for breeding (age 35 for elephants who have never had a baby), they are technically considered “surplus” animals according to AZA standards. While the approval of the AZA is not required, their recognition of the elephants’ status as “surplus,” may encourage the AZA to support the move. The zoos that have closed their exhibits have not lost their AZA accreditation as a result. The AZA is an industry trade group. Their job is to promote zoos. They have no regulatory power over them. They make money from zoos paying for their accreditation. They do not want to lose members. So they are not unbiased in their inspections.

The Elephant Sanctuary: The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee is the nation's largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically to meet the needs of endangered elephants. It is a non-profit organization, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and accredited by the Association of Sanctuaries, designed specifically for old, sick or needy elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses. Utilizing more than 2,700 acres, it provides three separate and protected natural-habitat environments for Asian and African elephants. Their residents are not required to perform or entertain for the public.  Instead, they are encouraged to live like elephants.  TES has a world renowned veterinarian and elephant expert on staff, Dr. Susan Mikota. Their website is http://www.elephants.com/.