36 years at Edmontons Valley Zoo have taken a toll on solitary Lucy. She suffers from the cold climate, depression, boredom and loneliness, stereotypy, arthritis, foot abscesses, toenail cracks, and reported respiratory problems. Asian elephant scientist Surendra Varma visited Lucy in 2009 and wrote a report on Lucy, using a scientific method to rate her conditions and well-being at 3.1 on a scale of 1-10. Here are a few excerpts from Varmas report: When Lucy stands, no ear flapping is observed and tail/trunk movement is absent. She often appears to be trying to support herself by leaning against a wall or object; which may be due to her leg problems, arthritis and/or obesity. Lucy uses only 15 to 20% of the total area of the outdoor enclosure. As Lucy becomes older, her chronic health conditions could become a more severe medical and management problem for her. The animal reportedly spent 25% of her time in the outdoor enclosure and 75% in the indoor area, regardless of when the barn door was open. Keeper records for 2008 reveal that Lucy was not taken out of her enclosure on 63 days due to weather and her ill health. Lucy showed stereotypy of two types: rocking and stepping. Lucy is managed for most of the hours when the zoo is open, it is reasonable to presume that her stereotypic behaviour increases when she is left alone. Shelter type: even though Lucy was allowed access to an outdoor enclosure with suitable sand/mud substrate, she spends nearly 75% of her time indoors. The space provided within was not adequate (~2000ft2) and the indoor enclosure had unsuitable flooring. This enclosure also served as Lucy’s sleeping location. The medical records were more detailed in the past years and they are now very sparse, indicating only the medications and other aspects associated to it This could be deleterious to the animal’s health considering her current health status and regular monitoring processes required. All of her current problems, both ecological and medical, can be solved if she were moved to a location which provides her with the necessary space, stimulus to use the space, the potential to create an unfragmented exercise regime, scope for socialization with other elephants (positively/negatively), and suitable weather conditions.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 04:39:20 +0000
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