Zoocheck Canada

[snowleopard]

Edmonton's Valley Zoo has a relatively tiny collection of animals, including a solitary elephant that must love the frigid winter weather that is the norm for a significant portion of the year. I spent the first ten years of my life living in Edmonton and can remember two consecutive years in the 1980's where there was 7-8 months with snow on the ground. The gibbon exhibit is one of the smallest I've ever seen for the species, and the three aging sea lions have the tiniest pool imaginable. There are zoos in SE Asia that are fantastic compared to those two enclosures. Lack of funding has hampered any kind of plans that the zoo has made, and they have had to alter their official "master plan" many times over the years.

Not long ago they announced on their website that they would focus exclusively on cold-weather animals, while still maintaining a "warm heart" that would have tropical animals in the centre of the zoo. I would be amazed if the Valley Zoo does gain funding for a polar bear exhibit, as in reality the place should really be torn down. The animals could be dispersed to many of the 220 AZA accredited zoos in North America, and the public would be saved from viewing a sad-sack collection.

As far as ZooCheck Canada is concerned, Taccachantrieri has a good point about their haphazard campaigns. I'm convinced that their opposition to the Calgary Zoo's proposed Arctic/Antarctic exhibit was a key factor in dropping beluga whales from the plans. And the fact that the Vancouver Aquarium is spending $80 million and almost doubling in size (while adding more whales and dolphins) has largely gone unnoticed. My only guess is that ZooCheck rarely updates their website, and being a small organization they have to pick and choose their campaigns. When the Calgary Zoo had polar bears in the past the bears were infamously stereotypical and at one time were regular users of prozac to calm them down.

 

[Taccachantrieri]

Edmonton's city council has approved the plans of the Valley Zoo. The Edmonton Valley Zoo is probably in the midst of their fund raising campaign. Remember that the Calgary Zoo still has not received federal funding so Edmonton Valley Zoo is really not that far behind them.
Actually, the Edmonton Valley Zoo has already commenced with their plans and added an exhibit of two arctic wolves this past August. Meanwhile the Calgary Zoo is yet to add an Arctic exhibit.

the Edmonton Valley Zoo really is in a sad state. Last I heard the Valley Zoo does not have a veterinarian on staff but heavily depends and utilizes the services of a private veterinarian. A lot of their tropical animals have to be caught in the fall and brought inside because they have no attached indoor exhibits to their outdoor exhibits besides tiny huts. The "huts" for squirrel monkeys are a few square feet in size. A lot of their exhibits are like those macaque islands shown on earlier threads.

I really think that the Edmonton Valley Zoo was encouraged to develop polar bear exhibits because the plans of the Calgary Zoo are in doubt and there is at least some demand in the province for viewing polar bears. Polar bears potentially give the Edmonton Valley Zoo a competitive edge over the Calgary Zoo. Many Edmontonians choose to go to the Calgary Zoo instead of the Edmonton Valley Zoo. With plans for super high speed trains connecting Edmonton and Calgary like those between the UK and France the commute time between cities could be under half an hour.

 

[snowleopard]

http://www.edmonton.ca/ArtCultAttr/ValleyZooMasterPlanDraft.pdf

The Edmonton Valley Zoo's 2005 master plan is located on that weblink, and at the end of the document there is a complete breakdown of the costs associated with implementing such a plan. The numbers are staggering for such a terrible little zoo, and I'll be flabbergasted if even half of the money is raised for the renovations. In 2009 the zoo will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and it should either condense its collection with a series of newly refurbished exhibits or shut down and disperse of the animals.

@Taccachantrieri: I have visited the Valley Zoo in the winter on a number of occasions, and the "cold-weather enclosures" of the animals are beyond pitiful. And it is impossible to compare the Calgary and Edmonton zoos, as Calgary is a zoological masterpiece compared to my hometown's tragic establishment. It makes me mad to think of the atrocious sea lion pool, where those animals have been forced to live for many years...

 

[snowleopard]

The solitary elephant at Edmonton's Valley Zoo: this was taken from Zoocheck Canada, which has justifiably criticized the tiny little elephant exhibit at the snow-covered zoo.

Nearly all of Lucy’s life has been spent shuffling around the Edmonton Valley Zoo’s tiny elephant yard. She stands stationary much of the time, sometimes rocking back and forth, and has numerous ongoing health issues.

She wasn’t always alone. Until last September, a female African elephant named Samantha shared her small enclosure. Samantha was shipped off to another zoo on a long-term breeding loan and may never return. Elephants are among the most social of all animals. In the wild, a female elephant spends her entire life, day and night, in contact with other elephants.

The Valley Zoo says Lucy is fine where she is and that she has bonded with her keepers. They say the zoo is all she knows and that it wouldn't be in her best interest for her to leave. But the constant 24 hour a day social contact, that wild elephants experience with their families cannot be replicated by staff at the Valley Zoo. They are not a substitute for a family or herd.

Keepers go home at the end of their shift. And when they do, Lucy is left alone in her tiny indoor facility until the next morning. Elephant families don’t disband in the late afternoon and then reassemble the next morning. They are together all the time. Lucy’s keepers are not a stand-in for a real elephant family. It’s true that the elephant yard and barn at the Valley Zoo is probably all Lucy has ever known. But that’s probably the most compelling reason for her to go elsewhere. Denying Lucy a better life just because she’s only known the Valley Zoo doesn’t make sense. In fact, it's a terrible reason for her to spend the rest of her life in solitary confinement in the zoo’s poorly constructed conditions.

Recently, the zoo has also said Lucy has an infection that makes it too dangerous for her to travel. Lucy has many health issues, but it's difficult to imagine that her health wouldn't improve if she were moved to a better situation. Her living conditions and lack of activity, coupled with the frustration and stress of being alone, must be having a severely negative effect.

In a more stimulating, naturalistic environment Lucy would be able to act more like an elephant. She’d be more active, her fitness would get better, her immune system would get stronger and her mental state would improve. If the history of elephants in zoos is any indication, then the odds are against Lucy if she remains where she is. Foot and bone infections are two of the biggest killers of elephants in North American zoos. And most of the elephants who die from them aren’t very old.

The path ahead is clear. Lucy must be sent to a better facility in a warmer climate where she has room to roam and the company of other elephants. Halfway measures won’t make a difference. She has to go. If Lucy stays at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, there’s not a lot that can be done to substantially raise her quality of life, or even to make it tolerable, over the long-term. The space is just too small, the climate is wrong and there are no other elephants.