You've finally figured me out, I'm a secret agent sent by PETA to infiltrate the hated zoochat in an attempt to ban elephants in captivity...
No, I simply feel that when people start going on about exhibits being a great size, they often have no evidence to back this up. I did, in no way, say that you were wrong, I simply asked for some sources of evidence which support what you say. Calling me a zoo-hater only demonstrates that you can not back up your claims, whether they are correct or not.
I am well aware that bigger is not necessarily better however, elephants tend to do better in larger enclosures and if a larger enclosure was available, it would be beneficial to the elephants to live in it (if only because there is a greater chance of grass being able to grow).
I am aware, however, that this is not the case and in my original post I said it was more for the WAP to provide the massive enclosures and the zoo to provide knock-out exhibits. I did not say that the elephant odyssey was unsatisfactory for the inhabitants (although, with the amount of elephant facilities expanding to over three acres, I would have thought that San Diego could do better), only that their primary objective was not providing optimum care for the elephants, but providing a realistic pleistocene environment which, incidentally, they failed in doing.
I don't ever recall calling you a zoo-hater. Its sort of nice to have different types of elephant enclosures opening up instead of just enormous fields like North Carolina. I think its very cool to have some exhibits that specialize in enrichment, while others do good at naturalism, and others specialize in size. It would be boring if all elephant exhibits were like North Carolina.
"Your comment seems to be more along the lines of whether or not elephants should be in zoos" does sort of imply that you think I am a zoo-hater as most who say that elephants should not be kept in zoos believe that other animals should not be either. However, I find this comment too ridiculous and unfounded to continue arguing about it here - let's leave the arguments to Elephant Odyssey, shall we.
Its sort of nice to have different types of elephant enclosures opening up instead of just enormous fields like North Carolina. I think its very cool to have some exhibits that specialize in enrichment, while others do good at naturalism, and others specialize in size. It would be boring if all elephant exhibits were like North Carolina.
I agree, I don't say that Watani is the holy grail of elephant enclosures and we all enjoy innovative exhibits with a bit of originality. However, it is possible to have exhibits which do well in all of these categories. I appreciate San Diego has a larger collection than site to maintain it, so perhaps it is unreasonable to suggest they should have a massive elephant enclosure, however, it is perfectly feasable to make an exhibit look natural on 2.5 acres, especially as the one in question has only been open a few days. And, as I have been saying from the beginning, the exhibit has seemed more important than the welfare of the elephants or else - and I'm getting serious deja-vu here - the zoo would have given them a seven acre paddock (I'm not, for the last time, saying this is bad, just stating a fact).
If you bothered to read my first post, you would see that this is what I have been saying all along - San Diego had the exhibit as their top priority and, in my opinion, it is a failure (not catastorophic, but the "worlds greatest zoo" should have done better). Please next time, read what I have to say before blindly proclaiming that I think elephants should run free as the wind blows, free as the grass grows simply because I dare to disagree with your opinion.
Again, to say the elephants welfare was not of chief concern is absurd imo. The two things most are complaining about the most, the utilitrees and the state of the art elephant care center, are there only for the elephants. They're certainly not their for their appearance. Providing what is probably one of the best pools for elephants in a zoo is obviously great for the elephants. And again, the exhibit is the same size as the 2 exhibits they had at the WAP, which has worked tremendously for the elephants.
I agree that it would be nice for there to be some grass/trees, but it's clear the zoo does greatly care about the welfare of the elephants.
