LOS ANGELES, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Zoo Director John Lewis today jointly announced that, after years of helping to educate the Southern California community about elephants, Ruby the elephant will be moved to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Northern California (PAWS). The 46-year old African elephant has led a fulfilling life at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (LA Zoo) where she has lived for nearly 10 active and healthy years.
The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA), the nonprofit organization created to support the LA Zoo and representing 70,000 member households (more than 300,000 individuals), has closely followed today's decision.
"Ruby has played a vital role in educating the 1.5 million annual visitors to the LA Zoo about elephants," said Tom Mankiewicz, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for GLAZA. "Ruby's contribution to the education of millions of children and families, who were lucky enough to see her during her stay at the LA Zoo, indebts us all to this wonderful animal. This was the right decision for this animal at this time, and we send our best wishes as she enters a new chapter in her life."
The decision to move Ruby to PAWS follows months of careful deliberation and discussion between and among zoological experts, LA Zoo management and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the national agency responsible for zoo accreditation. While GLAZA strongly believes elephants are a vital component of the animal community at the LA Zoo, the organization believes Ruby's move to PAWS is appropriate since the LA Zoo now plans to focus on the conservation and exhibition of the highly endangered Asian elephant.
"In GLAZA's review of this decision, we had a single question to answer," said Mankiewicz. "What's good for Ruby given current circumstances and constraints, especially knowing that the LA Zoo will no longer exhibit African elephants?"
GLAZA is currently spearheading the private fundraising effort to help finance construction of the LA Zoo's new Asian elephant exhibit, the Pachyderm Forest, which will be one of the largest elephant exhibits of any urban zoo in the country, featuring 3.5 acres of outdoor space, as well as an unparalleled resource for education about this magnificent but endangered species. GLAZA has committed $4.5 million for the Pachyderm Forest.
"Elephants are one of the most popular and invaluable educational ambassadors in a zoo community," said Connie Morgan, President of GLAZA. "We at GLAZA are committed to offering this opportunity to see elephants at the LA Zoo for the Southern California community and eagerly anticipate construction of the new Pachyderm Forest."
The Pachyderm Forest is the largest and most ambitious project in the LA Zoo's 40-year history, and will feature Asian elephants in a highly naturalistic environment, evoking their jungle habitat in the wild. This lush environment -- including a waterfall, mud wallows, a dry river bed for the elephants to have dust baths, tree stumps and other large objects for them to play with, and steep grade changes for climbing -- will offer them fantastic opportunities to express naturalistic behaviors. This diversity of activities will keep the elephants active and engaged, and give the visitor an accurate picture of the elephants' natural abilities.
GLAZA believes that there is no better ambassador for endangered species in the wild than the Asian elephant, whose current plight is emblematic of the challenges facing many of the earth's species. Elephant populations in Asia have declined over 70% in the last 100 years, leaving the remaining 35,000 individual elephants vulnerable to pressure from human population expansion, shrinking and degraded habitats, poaching and genetic isolation. The goal of the Pachyderm Forest will be to educate the public about the imminent threats to elephants, and urge them to take direct action to support conservation efforts and save this amazing animal from extinction.
Through breeding programs, the LA Zoo has played a critical role in the conservation of many endangered and threatened species, including the California condor, Brazil's golden lion tamarin and the Arabian oryx. As an AZA accredited organization (a venerable distinction shared by fewer than 10% of the approximately 2,400 animal exhibitors licensed by the USDA), the LA Zoo is in a unique position to directly help the Asian elephant population in the wild by educating the public about the catastrophic consequences of ignoring the elephants' plight, and participating in the conservation of the species through breeding programs.
GLAZA supports the LA Zoo's critical work as an educational resource, and center for the conservation of endangered wildlife. The LA Zoo remains one of the nation's largest and most highly respected zoos, operating continuously since 1966.
The Los Angeles Zoo is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. On July 1, 1997, the LA Zoo became its own city department. It is the mission of
the Los Angeles Zoo to: "serve the community, create an environment for recreation and discovery; inspire an appreciation of wildlife through exhibitry and education; ensure the highest level of animal welfare; andsupport programs that preserve biodiversity and conserve natural habitat."
The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association is a nonprofit corporation created to support the Los Angeles Zoo in its mission to nurture wildlife and enrich the
human experience. GLAZA's primary responsibility is to seek and provide financial support for the Zoo's programs and capital projects. GLAZA performs
other support functions as requested by the Zoo Director.
The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association
