Ruby the Elephant to be Moved from L.A. Zoo to Sanctuary

By: North County Times Wire Services - | Monday, March 12, 2007 8:13 PM PDT ∞

LOS ANGELES - Ruby, a 46-year-old African elephant housed at the Los Angeles Zoo, will soon pack her trunk to move to more spacious digs at a Northern California sanctuary, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa confirmed today.

After a 20-year stint at the Los Angeles Zoo, Ruby is retiring to spend her twilight years at the Performing Animal Welfare Society Elephant Sanctuary in San Andreas, southeast of Sacramento.

"Today, after 20 years of living here, and over 25,000 pounds of peanuts I may add, we finally say good-bye," Villaraigosa said during a news conference at the Griffith Park zoo.

"Ruby's retirement does not mark the end, but rather signals the start of a new beginning for both Ruby and the L.A. Zoo," he said.

The pachyderm played with a ball and gnawed on an acacia bush as city officials discussed her impending departure, which will take place "as soon as possible," according to zoo director John Lewis.

Animal rights advocates and citizens -- including TV game show host Bob Barker -- have long urged Ruby's move to a more elephant-friendly location.

"Ruby was the first elephant to bring national attention to the suffering of elephants in zoos," said veterinarian Elliot Katz, president of In Defense of Animals. "We are pleased to have played a part in encouraging the decision to move her to the sanctuary. It's the right thing to do."

Barker pledged $300,000 in matching funds to support Ruby's care at the sanctuary, according to In Defense of Animals.

The city will pay $20,000 for Ruby's transfer, according to Villaraigosa.

"I can tell you that the decision to retire Ruby wasn't generated under pressure," the mayor said. "I've said very clearly that I believe that elephants should be in sanctuaries and not in zoos, but it's still a debate, a conversation we've got to have."

African elephants such as Ruby have no future at the L.A. Zoo, which has steadfastly defended its handling of pachyderms while building a new exhibit for Asian elephants.

Billy, a 21-year-old male, will be the first to move into the $39 million Asian elephant exhibit totaling six acres, about 3.7 acres of which will allow the pachyderms to roam around more freely, compared to the half-acre enclosure they currently reside in.

The new exhibit, set to open late next year, will be able to hold up to five adult Asian elephants and three of their offspring, according to Lewis.

"While it's bittersweet that she is leaving, it's also a happy day because the zoo can now concentrate fully on its pachyderm forest," Lewis said.

Ruby first arrived at the Los Angeles Zoo from Circus Vargas in 1987. She gained worldwide attention in 2003, when the zoo separated her from an Asian elephant named Gita, her companion of 16 years, and sent her to a zoo in Knoxville, Tenn.

The zoo in Knoxville was unable to integrate her, prompting then-Mayor Jim Hahn to call for Ruby's return. The zoo has kept Ruby off public display since her return in 2004.

Ruby has lived alone since the death of Gita in 2006, even though elephants are highly social and should never live alone, according to IDA.

At the PAWS sanctuary, Ruby will be able to roam on more than 70 acres of natural landscape with other African elephants. The facility, which has received elephants from zoos in Detroit, San Francisco, and Milwaukee, will give Ruby more than 500 times the space of her current enclosure.

"We are pleased to see the city, the L.A. Zoo and Mayor Villaraigosa recognize that it's best to send Ruby to a sanctuary, which, unlike any zoo, can provide the vast space and natural conditions elephants need to thrive," said the IDA's Catherine Doyle.

But transferring an elephant can be risky.

Wankie, a 36-year-old African elephant originally from the San Diego Zoo, was euthanized after complications in transferring her from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City in May 2005.

Wankie had difficulty breathing shortly after her arrival to Salt Lake City, prompting animal keepers to make the decision to put her down, Chicago zoo officials said at the time.

Lewis said he does not foresee any problems in transferring a healthy Ruby to Northern California.

Ruby will be lured into a large truck, secured and hauled to the sanctuary, where she will live in a barn near the other elephants as she adapts to her new surroundings, Lewis said. A Los Angeles Zoo employee will stay with Ruby for at least a week to assist in the transition.

"At her age, I don't think it's a tremendous risk," Lewis said. "There's always a risk in transporting any animal, but it's not related to her age. It's kind of just like having surgery; there's always an inherent risk."

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, introduced a bill last year that called for setting minimum space requirements for zoos and circuses holding elephants, but the proposal languished in the Assembly's Appropriations Committee amid cost concerns.

Levine reintroduced the bill in February, and the Assembly's Public Safety Committee is scheduled to consider the matter later this month.

Levine briefly discussed his bill while lauding the decision to move Ruby.

"Nobody in California has the right to see an elephant in captivity -- it's a privilege," Levine said. "And with that privilege comes a responsibility to treat all animals with the dignity they deserve."