Nashville Zoo Death Stirs Controversial Elephant Debate

Kiba among youngest to die from degenerative joint disorder

San Rafael, Calif. (December 21, 2009) - In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international zoo watchdog organization, says the unusual death of 26-year-old Kiba, an African elephant at the Nashville Zoo, provides yet another tragic example of why elephants should not be held in zoos. Kiba is the only elephant in the last ten years to die from a joint disorder while still in her 20s. A natural elephant lifespan is 60-70 years, but elephants in zoos commonly die decades earlier.

"Kiba’s death raises a red flag because she was extremely young to be euthanized due to Degenerative Joint Disease or Osteoarthritis," said Dr. Mel Richardson, a veterinarian who has worked with captive wildlife for 40 years. "If she did suffer a previous leg injury, the very nature of captivity would inhibit traumatized joints from healing. I hope the zoo will release Kiba's medical records so the cause of her suffering and death can be fully understood."

Dr. Richardson cites lack of adequate exercise due to small exhibit size, standing long hours on concrete or packed gravel, and obesity as major factors that negatively affect the healing process. Such inadequate conditions contribute to the high rates of arthritis from which elephants in zoos and circuses suffer. Dr. Richardson states, "Joints are meant to move and require movement in order to stay healthy and heal from injury."

Though Kiba's increasingly painful leg condition would have seriously impaired her ability to successfully carry a calf over a two-year gestation period, the Nashville Zoo subjected her to invasive artificial insemination procedures late in 2004 and had planned to repeat the procedure again.

Kiba was imported from Zimbabwe, Africa, with a large number of other calves in the 1980s. Dr. Richardson was a veterinarian from 1982 to 1984 in Grand Prairie, Texas, where many of the elephants were housed. He saw first-hand the brutal training and breaking of the babies, which sometimes led to ankle and knee injuries.

"There’s no doubt Kiba's joint disease and early death were captivity induced," says Catherine Doyle, IDA campaign director. "It's sad that no matter how much care the Nashville Zoo may have provided to Kiba, it just wasn’t enough to overcome the inadequate conditions in which she was kept."

Two elephants remain at the Nashville Zoo, 25-year-old Sukari and 29-year-old Hadari.

For more information, please visit www.HelpElephants.com

Contacts:
Catherine Doyle, 323-301-5730, zoos@idausa.org