Lucy the Elephant in Edmonton

I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.  The winters are very cold.  Temperatures get below freezing for weeks on end, and there is snow to contend with.  It sucks, but it must suck even more for Lucy, who is an Asian Elephant. 

Lucy had been orphaned in 1975 and was purchased in 1977 when she was just two years old and brought to the Edmonton Valley Zoo, which was known as Storyland Valley Zoo back in its early days.

Lucy has lived alone and the zoo claims she is not a social elephant and prefers to be alone rather than with other elephants.   I am not sure how they would determine that as she really has not been tested with other elephants.

 I have visited the zoo a few times and mostly would observe Lucy standing in her rather small and boring enclosure, however on my last visit we saw her walking around.  This was the first time I have ever seen this but apparently she goes for daily walks.  The handlers told me that they more or less allowed her to go on her own.  They did say that in the winter they have a spot where they can stop so she can take a break and warm up but did not say she hated the cold.  Her large size would help her stay warm, but I am not sure if they put a blanket on her back in the winter or not.

The Calgary zoo, which is further south in Alberta, decided to send their elephants to warmer climates and many are calling for Edmonton to do the same.

Personally I do not know what to think.  I am not an expert on judging if an elephant is happy or not.  I cannot tell if she is happy as an only elephant or not.  I do not know if she likes her daily walks, even in the winter. 

I do know that the staff at the Edmonton Valley Zoo do their best to care for Lucy.  She has arthritis, possibly related to a deformity she was born with, and has some breathing problems when stressed.  In fact this problem is one of the reasons why some people insist she should not be moved, they say the stress will be too hard on her.

As such, while there are many petitions to move Lucy to a warmer climate I am not really sure what is best for her.

I will say, however, that this is a fine example of why we need to stop taking animals from their natural homes and bringing them to other places just for our entertainment.

Other reading on Lucy

Review of the Northern Lights Wolf Center

The Northern Lights Wolf Center is located between Golden, BC, and Revelstoke, being closer to Golden. It is about a 10 minute drive off the highway. 

While driving from Golden to Revelstoke this past summer (July 2012) we saw signs "Wolves", and "Wolf Puppies" and made a plan to stop there on the way home (we were on vacation to Vancouver).

To be honest were expecting something different so were slightly disappointed in the Northern Lights Wolf Center however overall we were still glad we stopped. We expect to see wolves moving around in a more wild setting but it was hot summer day and they were snoozing in cages. The cages themselves were not too bad. 

They did have wolf puppies but the puppies were a few months old when we saw them, actually we only saw one and it was asleep. I would suggest anyone looking to see younger puppies to visit earlier in the year, perhaps May or June.

We were impressed with the interpretive displays, they had lots of information on wolves and other Canadian wildlife. They also had lots of information regarding various petitions supporting protection for wildlife.

Additionally the Northern Lights Wolf Center had information on the Karelian Bear Dogs, and owned a couple of such dogs too. These dogs are used to teach bears to stay away from human areas and as such the goal would be to avoid fewer bear problems which sometimes result in bears being shot and killed. 

Apparently they do also have “walks with wolves” available in which a person could get better pictures than we got. They are open daily, even in the winter, but I would advise you check the weather and road conditions before making a trip in the winter.

As far as roadside zoos and attractions go, I would rate this one as fair. I would say it is worth stopping at if you are driving through the area and like wolves. The enclosures were pretty good, they had trees, shade, shelter, and interesting areas for the wolves. Had I seen any signs of cruelty or suffering I would not encourage any visitors to this wolf center. The people are clearly trying to do what they think is right; offering education, and are not just in it for the money.

I want to add that keeping wolves as pets is not a good idea.  If you are somebody who wants a wolf for this reason you should have a proper facility similar to the one at the Northern Lights Wolf Center, allowing the wolves to live at least somewhat naturally.

The Tiger Mom and the Piglets

Sometime in 2006 an e-mail circulated about a female tiger nursing piglets to overcome her depression at the loss of her tiger cubs. 

I remember seeing this in 2007 and later did a search on it only to discover the whole thing was a fake.  The truth was a little depressing.

The tiger mom and the piglets were part of an entertainment feature at the Sriracha Zoo in Thailand.  This zoo is noted for having a tiger breeding program in which cubs are raised to be used in circuses or for sale to other zoos.  As such the cubs are probably taken from their mothers at a very young age and raised by people - or placed with a sow for equal entertainment value, at least for the hours people visit the zoo. 

The zoo went so far as to dress the piglets like tigers, but apparently this was also just for show, as the tiger skins were removed after the zoo closed.

one of the pictures from the circulated e-mail

To say if this is cruel or not is a person's own opinion.  It certainlly is not natural, although there have been some true stories where animals of one species raise young of an other (rarely a dog may raise a kitten, or young squirrels).  Nutritionally one would have to assume both the piglets and the tiger cubs were also fed special formula for their species.  In some cases visitors were allowed to bottle feed the young animals.  The Srirahca Tiger zoo would not be a place I would have on the top of my list to visit. 

It is interesting to note that there are currently more tigers in captivity than in the wild, yet many of the captive tigers are inbred to the point they have health issues, and short lifespans.

Further Reading On Pet Tigers and Zoos

Facts on Pet Tigers

So... You want a Pet Tiger... Other ways of having a Pet

Issues of Zoos