Woodland Park Zoo Press Release

Wait for the facts about Hansa’s death
Bruce Upchurch, Elephant Curator, Woodland Park Zoo

The insensitivity of some in their efforts to pursue their own narrow agenda is astonishing. Within hours after our beloved elephant Hansa died unexpectedly, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other extremist animal rights groups were distorting facts. We are used to these organizations feeding the public misinformation. But to exploit her death to further their cause while we were still in shock, and dealing with the difficult process of a necropsy and cremation, takes disrespect to a new low.

Further, a self-proclaimed animal expert and former zoo director (whose training was in fact as a landscape architect, and who lives thousands of miles away in Australia) has issued as “fact” a litany of gross mischaracterizations and blatant inaccuracies about the care our elephants receive, primarily because his stated agenda is to close all zoos. In fact, Hansa’s life was full of socializing and exploration with her herd mates, as well as playful interaction with her keepers.

Hansa wasn’t human but particularly to the five keepers and other curatorial and veterinary staff who have cared for her since birth, she was a member of our family. Shame on these groups for trying to capitalize on the immediacy and emotions of Hansa’s death, without having any facts or even giving us time to adjust.

Further shame on them for speculating they know the cause of death and making baseless claims; that doesn’t help elephants, and it doesn’t help advance the public’s understanding. Friday we invited a team of board certified veterinarians and veterinary pathologists from multiple institutions to assist with the medical investigation. We even contacted the U.S.D.A. informing them of the circumstances and our plans to conduct a full necropsy. Three independent organizations joined in that work, and dozens of laboratory tests are being conducted. Let’s let the scientific experts do their jobs. A full report of the medical findings will be made available; that’s not only the law, it’s the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, we can assure the public that Hansa was not lacking in her too-short life. This is an animal our keepers raised and loved. Every day they bathed her head to tail, filed her toenails, hid treats for her, played games with her and happily shoveled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of elephant dung. The keepers who checked every inch of her daily to ensure she was healthy are the ones who will miss Hansa the most and they, as much if not more than anybody, want to learn why she died.

Those of us who work with elephants have made this our life’s calling and we are passionate about the quality of care our elephants receive. Further, our counterparts who care for what some might consider less charismatic animals – whether those are lizards, cranes or mountain goats – are just as passionate about the animals in their care.

We also speak with pride about our exhibit space, which provides our elephants with a heated barn with padded flooring and more than one acre of outdoor space with hills, pools and varied vegetation. Contrary to what animal extremists groups want the public to believe, our elephants have plenty of room to walk, forage, play, swim and just be elephants. Their claims that “elephants walk more than that” in the wild is overly simplistic.

As long-time animal welfare advocates and zoo employees, we know that animals are born and they die in the wild, and they are born and they die in zoos. Nonetheless it is difficult to say goodbye to an animal who touched our hearts and the hearts of our community. We are extraordinarily grateful for the hundreds of messages of support we’ve received from our community and all around the world. So please, let’s have a more respectful approach and give the scientific investigation process time to reveal its findings.

Bruce Upchurch is Curator of Elephants and leads the elephant care team at Woodland Park Zoo. He graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in zoology and has 23 years of experience working with elephants and many other animals. He is on the Board of Regents of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), and is an instructor and administrator for the AZA’s Principles of Elephant Management Course.