Bamboo the elephant’s life at Seattle zoo is big controversy

[flamingyouth]

Bamboo popped carrots into her mouth with her trunk as the water, beige with dirt, slid down her back. Watching the 39-year-old Asian elephant get her daily bath, it's easy to think she doesn't have a care in the world.

But Bamboo has become the focus of one of the most heated and bitterly debated controversies the Woodland Park Zoo has seen in years.

"From my perspective, this Bamboo issue is by far and away the most significant thing we've ever had here before," said Bruce Bohmke, the zoo's deputy director.

What started as a citizen's note of concern has escalated into a letter-writing campaign, public rallies and even a lawsuit accusing the Seattle zoo of harming an endangered species.

more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003123619_elephant13m.html

The Northwest Animal Rights Network will hold a rally for Bamboo the elephant from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday at the Woodland Park Zoo north entrance on North 59th Street.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

1. 1 acre for four elephants?

In my town you need to be able to provide three acres to legally own a horse. Somehow I think four elephants may need more room than a single horse.

[LeftyMom]

2. I hope she and the other elephants get a better placement

Elephants in the wild range over great distances and they suffer from arthritis when they can't do so. They're exquisitely sensitive to noise and vibration, which are constant in an urban enviornment. There's really no humane way to care for them in a zoo.

If they're concerned about the change in climate or the transport distance, there's a sanctuary here in Northern California, which is closer and a bit more like home as she has come to know it than Tennesee.

[Robeson]

3. What an infuriating article....

...with all the "justifications" those zoo officials tried to give, this, from the article, is undoubtedly their bottom-line:

The elephants are among the zoo's biggest draws. When the baby elephant Hansa was born there in late 2000, visitors waited in line for 90 minutes or more to see her. :mad:

Lastly, we would welcome her with open arms, here in Tennessee.