All of you who have visited PAWS Ark 2000 with me over the years, will remember Wanda, one of the Asian elephants, who with her friend Gypsy enjoyed a large enclosure with grass to forage and a pond to swim in. The 2 elephants were always seen together enjoying each others company. They had met more than 20 years ago during their years in captive situations and remembered each other once reunited. After 10 years at PAWS, Wanda died recently and will be remembered fondly by all who knew her.
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PAWS Announces the Death of
Beloved
Asian Elephant Wanda
PERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY
Thirty-one years of protection, education, advocacy & sanctuary.
Press Release
San Andreas, Calif.
(February 12, 2015) - The Performing Animal
Welfare Society (PAWS) today announced the death of much-loved Asian elephant
Wanda at the ARK 2000 captive wildlife sanctuary in San Andreas, California. She
was humanely euthanized on Wednesday, following a long history of arthritis and
foot disease, the leading reasons for euthanizing elephants in captivity. At
age 57, she was among the oldest Asian elephants in North America.
"Every elephant at
PAWS is special, but Wanda stood out for her adventurous spirit. She will be
very much missed," said PAWS president Ed Stewart. "I'm proud we
were able to give her a more natural and enriched life at the PAWS
sanctuary for nearly 10 years."
Wanda was born in the
wild in Asia around 1958, and captured at a young age to be put on display in
the United States. During her lifetime, she was moved from one location to
another at least seven times, including to Disneyland (according to the Asian
Elephant North American Regional Studbook), a circus, zoos in Texas, and then
the Detroit Zoo in Michigan.
The Detroit Zoo, which
is recognized as a leader in animal welfare as well as providing sanctuary for
animals in need of rescue, brought about the two greatest changes in Wanda's
life. Until her transfer to Detroit, keepers trained her with the bullhook - a
menacing weapon resembling a fireplace poker that is used to control elephants
through fear and pain - and kept her on chains. The zoo instead utilized a more
progressive and humane management system based on positive reinforcement
training that greatly improved Wanda's quality of life and freed her from
chains and bullhooks.
In 2004 the Detroit Zoo
decided to end its elephant program for the good of the elephants, after
determining it could not provide the conditions necessary to meet their needs,
such as a warmer climate and far more space. The zoo opted to relocate Wanda
and fellow Asian elephant Winky to PAWS' ARK 2000 sanctuary in April 2005.
(Winky passed away in 2008.)
"Everyone at PAWS
felt a special obligation to the people of Detroit who loved Wanda so
much," stated Stewart. "We provided her with a life that was closer
to what nature intended for elephants, which was the Detroit Zoo's goal in
sending Wanda to PAWS. We did our very best for Wanda every minute of every day
she was at the sanctuary. She was very special to us too."
Upon arriving at ARK
2000, Wanda wasted no time in getting to know her new elephant companions and
joyfully exploring her new home that was unlike any captive facility she had
ever experienced before. At PAWS she loved to forage for natural vegetation in
the sanctuary's sprawling habitat, nap in soft grass on the hillside or
under a tree, and take therapeutic swims in the lake. The moderate California
climate allowed her to enjoy these activities year-round.
After another Asian
elephant, Gypsy, later arrived at the sanctuary, it was discovered that the two
had been in a circus together more than 20 years earlier. The elephants instantly
remembered one another and could always be found close together. Even in death
their friendship endured. After Wanda passed away, Gypsy approached her friend
and stayed at her side for a period of time, gently touching her body and
"speaking" to her in soft rumbles, before slowly walking away.
Throughout the years,
PAWS developed a close personal relationship with the Detroit Zoo staff.
Executive Director and CEO Ron Kagan, keepers, curators and veterinarians
regularly visited Wanda, with whom they had a deep, loving bond. PAWS staff
often sent photos to Detroit of Wanda roaming the habitat, playing in the lake,
or simply soaking up the sun.
Stewart concluded:
"I want to thank the animal care staff from the Detroit Zoo and past and
present staff of PAWS for changing Wanda's life so dramatically and giving her
the opportunity to just be an elephant again."
As is customary for
all elephants that pass away at PAWS, a necropsy is being performed on
Wanda's remains by pathologists from U.C. Davis Veterinary Medical
Teaching Hospital and tissue samples sent to a laboratory.
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I will be at PAWS in several weeks and I am sure I will miss seeing her hanging out with her friend Gypsy! Thank you, PAWS, for giving her 10 good years in your loving care!
In quiet reflection,
Meggi
