The Associated Press
December 1, 2013
SPRINGFIELD, MO. — A southwest Missouri zoo (click here) is evaluating its elephant program following the death of a zookeeper and nationwide changes in how the industry is caring for the animals.
December 1, 2013
SPRINGFIELD, MO. — A southwest Missouri zoo (click here) is evaluating its elephant program following the death of a zookeeper and nationwide changes in how the industry is caring for the animals.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that a 41-year-old female named Patience remains out of the view of visitors to the Dickerson Park Zoo more than a month after she knocked elephant manager John Bradford to the ground as he leaned in between the bars. He was killed immediately.
Staff hasn't determined whether Patience will return to the public eye.
"We're not sure at this point what the structure is going to be," Zoo Director Mike Crocker said in a recent interview. "We're having to do a lot of evaluating of our program, our numbers — where we're going to go from here."
Nationally, elephant programs are in flux. Facing continued pressure from animal rights groups and increased regulations, some zoos are spending tens of millions of dollars on high-profile expansions of their elephant exhibits. Other programs are being shuttered completely....
The picture to the right is the Forest Elephant and the far straighter tucks than the Savanna Elephant. It is a genetic adaptation. The straight tusks prevent trees from catching on them.
...There are two subspecies of African elephants—the Savanna (or bush) elephant and the Forest elephant. Savanna elephants are larger than forest elephants, and their tusks curve outwards. In addition to being smaller, forest elephants are darker and their tusks are straighter and point downward. There are also differences in the size and shape of the skull and skeleton between the two subspecies.
Forest elephants, a distinct subspecies of African elephants, are uniquely adapted to the forest habitat of the Congo Basin, but are in sharp decline due to poaching for the international ivory trade. It is estimated that probably one quarter to one third of the total African elephant population is made up of forest elephants.
