The elephant situation is a vastly complicated one which I have largely tried to block out to prevent cursing and fits of anger. Go back to when the decision was made in the threads to get a fuller picture of it if you want but the general gist had nothing to do with the activists to start with. In fact they only became a real pain in the rump once the decision was made. The keepers made an welfare decision for the girls as well as the whole zoo. We cant escape the fact Canada is cold and icy. The exhibit was also undersized for regulations that were just about to come into effect. A brand new state of the art winterized facility was needed. The projected cost for the project was going to be at that time I think $20 million and the exhibit was going to need to run from the current exhibit, taking the hippo exhibit, the entire back stretch of unused space in the savanna right to the top of the domain hill with a massive new winter barn and requiring a massive upgrade to the current barn to house bulls. Reality was that was a massive investment for the zoo to make in a single species, that still couldn't be out most of the winter and that estimate for all that work was likely unrealistic. Added to that was the fact that were also need rules about herd composition that were about to come into effect. A herd needs to consist of at least three elephants and we had three older girls. A new younger herd would have been needed. Where were we going to get that from? Bulls maybe but breeding age females. Who was going to give up their breeding age females? Import them from Africa? Yeah the activists would have liked that. The staff decided on their own after the estimate came in that it would be better to end the program for the health of the girls, to ensure they were not in violation of new AZA regulations (not that it mattered we still got the boot over the elephants just for a different reason relating to them) and for the good of the zoo as a whole. Many of the projects that have been done for the good of other species would not have happened if all the money had gone to the elephants. Once the decision was made then it became the nightmare it did. Wow I'm impressed I got that all out without flying into a mini rage... for that joy look back at the time the elephants left. I found lots of creative ways to bash a certain ex game show host who's name I wish never to mention again, I still use the same colourful names I used back then to refer to him if forced.
Any idea on what these 17 species are, TZFan?
Of course I have a list for that! I just haven't added species that will be very likely lost due to the master plan.
Olive Baboon
Barbary Ape
Lion Tailed Macaque
Mouflon (that's why only the males are in the drive through)
Chamois
Barbary Sheep
Tur (though they keep breeding them for some stupid reason)
Tahr
Echidna
Llama
Reindeer
Common Marmoset (though if breeding has begun again that might have changed)
Bennett’s wallaby
Swamp Wallaby
Javan Whistling Duck
Shelduck
Little Pied Cormorant
And although I have heard nothing about it I would guess if other individuals are added these will go too.
White backed vulture
Nile Soft Shelled Turtle
West African Dwarf Crocodile (its an AZA phase out but some are breeding hard to say)
White breasted Cormorants
African Spotted Necked Otter (Fred is ancient and I think Lila is related to a lot of the possible breeders. Just don't see them importing new stock when they cannot breed them)
White handed Gibbon (a chance when they go they wont be replaced or another species will move in with the orangs)
Caiman (probably replaced with an SSP variety)
Spider Monkey (very realistic since the plan is for the jaguars to take over the exhibit)
Great Hornbill (They are both old and the empty exhibit could result in moving the babirusa or Komodos)