SEATTLE -- The Woodland Park Zoo announced on Wednesday it is ending its on-site elephant program.
Zoo staff says two female Asian elephants, 47-year-old Bamboo and 35-year-old Chai, who currently live at the zoo will be moved together to an accredited Association of Zoos & Aquariums facility.
"We remain committed to putting the welfare of our elephants first. After several months of working to implement the recommendations of the Elephant Task Force, we have found that adding to the herd of our two aging elephants is not realistic in the foreseeable future. It is in the best interest of Bamboo and Chai to live in a social, multi-animal herd in a healthy environment," said Woodland Park Zoo's President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen.
In August, 45-year-old African elephant Watoto had to be euthanized after she was found unable to stand in the enclosure.
A year ago, the Elephant Task Force presented the zoo with two options: one would keep the elephants at the zoo and expand the herd. Another option would be to allow them to age out or retire.
Zoo staff said they did a search throughout North America, looking for elephants to acquire so that they could grow the herd, but found no options to make that happen.
When asked why the animals couldn't be moved to a sanctuary, Jensen said moving the elephants to another zoo was more in line with Woodland Park's philosophy regarding conservation education.
"The sanctuary doesn't meet our goal for philosophy reason - having an opportunity for the animals to be visible to the public and for the public to be inspired by them," she said.
Elephant advocates celebrated Wednesday's announcement to close the elephant exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo as a partial victory, but say the battle isn't over.
"These two elephants were taken from their mothers as babies, they've lived on display their entire lives, They've earned and deserved to go to a sanctuary," said Alyne Fortgang, the co-founder of Friends of the Woodland Park Zoo Elephants.
The group has fought for years to free the elephants from Woodland Park.
Now, she says, they'll fight to have them moved to a sanctuary instead of a zoo, and she's hoping Seattle City Council might be able to help make that happen.
Mayor Ed Murray and Council Member Sally Bagshaw both released statements on Wednesday, expressing their support for finding a new home for the elephants. They both stopped short of saying whether they thought a zoo or a sanctuary would be be better for the elephants.
"Well city council has the authority to mandate where the elephants go," said Fortgang. "Because the zoo actually owns the animals, however, the zoo sits on city land and they're housed on city property, and the zoo gets about a third of taxpayer money, so you know what, taxpayers do have a say in this."
She says Friends of the Woodland Park Zoo Elephants plan to start petitioning to city council members, asking them to intervene. She encourages anyone who feels the same way, and wants the elephants to go to a sanctuary instead of a zoo, to email their council members directly.
The zoo hopes to move the elephants by spring of 2015.
