An African elephant that killed a veterinarian in New Zealand — accidentally, investigators concluded — is getting a second lease on life at the San Diego Zoo.
On April 25, 2012, Mila killed Helen Schofield at the Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary in New Zealand by picking her up and shaking her. With no other facility in the region capable of caring for an elephant, euthanasia was discussed.
But Mila, one of only two elephants in all of New Zealand, was already well-known by many people in that country before the fatality.
A Facebook page titled “Save Mila the Elephant” called on officials and the public to help “give her a life she deserves.” A video that’s still on YouTube asked people to assist the Franklin Zoo in raising $1.4 million to transport Mila to a sanctuary overseas.
Many New Zealanders had seen Mila in a touring circus over the years, and the elephant became a sort of cause celebre for animal-rights activists in the nation who objected to the use of exotic animals as entertainment.
As a young elephant, Mila was acquired by the Honolulu Zoo to be a companion for another elephant. Erin Ivory, an animal keeper for the Franklin Zoo, said the two elephants didn’t get along. So the Honolulu Zoo sold the 4-year-old Mila to a circus in New Zealand.
For the next 32 years, Mila traveled with the circus as Jumbo, never seeing another elephant in all that time.
The New Zealand-based group SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation) campaigned for more than two decades against Mila’s treatment in the circus. Following one performance that drew a number of complaints from spectators in 2008, inspectors from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were called to check on the elephant at Loritz Circus. The inspectors found her in good condition and the circus was allowed to continue, according to press reports at the time.
In 2009, the circus retired Mila and turned her over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. While animal-rights advocates declared a victory, the society was suddenly left to care and feed for the largest animal in New Zealand. A public fundraising drive was established to help feed Mila, who was sent to the eight-acre Franklin Zoo south of Auckland.
“The New Zealand people have donated so much time and resources for Mila,” Ivory said. “They’ve provided everything except another elephant, which is why she came to the San Diego Zoo.”
Plans already were in the works to send Mila to a larger facility in the United States when Schofield was killed.
A coroner’s report released this year found that Mila didn’t act aggressively. It said she was behaving gently and may have even tried to protect Schofield, who had not followed her own safety guidelines when she entered the elephant’s enclosure.
According to the report, Mila may have become agitated after brushing against an electrified fence. Witnesses said Schofield went into the closure with fruit to calm her down, then tripped while backing away as the elephant began quickly approaching. A witness quoted in the report said Mila then slowly wrapped her trunk around Schofield, picked her up and shook her. Moments later, Mila put Schofield back on the ground. Investigators said Schofield died of multiple injuries to her chest and abdomen.
Since arriving at the San Diego Zoo on Nov. 14, Mila has been under a routine quarantine as zookeepers test her for tuberculosis and other possible ailments. Zoo officials also are monitoring how she’s adapting to her new home.
Ivory, whom Franklin Zoo trustees hired to help with Mila’s transition, said it could be six months before she is introduced to other elephants. “We’re not just going to open the gates and let them all have free reign,” Ivory said.
For now, Mila seems comfortable and curious in her new home.
“She’s having a lot of fun and she gets a lot of stimuli, with a lot of new sounds and smells,” Ivory said. “She’s figured out how to watch other elephants from quarantine.”
Ivory also said Mila will be introduced to areas of the zoo’s Elephant Odyssey exhibit before meeting the other elephants. She is still learning about things she has never seen, such as the hydraulic doors in the enclosure, but she seems exceptionally smart, Ivory said.
While Mila can’t be seen by San Diego Zoo visitors, a photo on the Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary’s Facebook page photo shows the quarantined elephant with her trunk extended periscope-like, sniffing the air while other elephants stand just behind the wall surrounding her.
Greg Vicino, associate curator of elephants for the San Diego Zoo, said Mila is getting to know the other elephants despite the physical distance.
“This is a great time for her to be communicating with other elephants in the herd,” he said. “There’s no doubt the girls are talking to each other now.”
Vicino said zoo personnel are using positive reinforcement to shape Mila’s behavior.
Mila’s new training won’t involve circus tricks, however. For the first time in many years, Mila is learning how to act — well, like an elephant.
“It used to be that the most important relationship an animal had was with its trainer or keeper,” Vicino said. “We’ve kind of flipped that on its head and decided the most important relationship it has is with its peers and with its environment.”
