Auckland zoo has one elephant. They had a sign which effectively stated they were keeping the elephant as happy as possible until it died and they would not replace it.
Wellington zoo has no elephants. They turned the elephant house into a lunch room. A sign on the room says they think keeping elephants in zoos is cruel.
I can't specifically remember if a similar sign existed at Hamilton zoo but they had no elephant either.
All three zoos still had giraffe, rhino and other large African animals, something I found, over time, a little bizarre. Why take a stand on elephants and not other animals?
I assumed when reading the news of an elephant killing a keeper in a New Zealand zoo [The Age] that it must have been the Auckland elephant (which to be honest looked pretty restless and unhappy, but I'm no expert) but it wasn't.
The elephant was at Franklin zoo, a zoo which aims to rehabilitate rescued animals from circuses or small zoos. Mila (Jumbo) was a retired circus elephant and was in a bad way when she arrived.
This article from just over a year ago explains the elephant's situation: Mila (Jumbo) the elephant enjoying her retirement at Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary [May 19, 2010]. It heavy quotes Dr Helen Schofield, the zookeeper/vet who Mila killed today.
I love zoos. I love watching animals, I love photographing animals, I love identifying animals. I could do it all day. Almost ever zoo or aquarium I visit has an animal I've not seen (or don't remember seeing) before. I always wonder how I could have missed ever seeing such a wondrous being before. Part of me would like to be a vet, but I'm terrible with names, and being a doctor of any kind is all about names. And Latin. And six plus years of university is a bit of a turn off. And I'm not really good with death... I'd be a terrible vet.
A friend at work is anti-zoo, but I feel such definite statements rely on a world free of desperation and war, which seems impossible. I can see a strong case though for not transporting animals out of their native continent.
To be honest, I got a lot more of a thrill out of Zoolandia in Wellington, which is more of a sanctuary than a zoo, where animals have been provided with a safe place to live surrounded by a cage intended to keep predators (mammals) out rather than the animals (birds mostly) in. Although most of the animals were not really "wild" as they were almost all tagged in some way (leg bracelets, radio tagging) they were mostly free to roam where ever they liked.
I suppose similar places exist in Africa, with a careful balance provided between predators and prey, with fences and security provided to keep the non-native predators (humans mostly) out.
New Zealand seems to be taking a general stand against Elephants in zoos. I suppose one day they may move that to include other large mammals. Where they draw the line I suppose is up to them, probably a fine line between breeding program requirements for endangered animals, and the size and space requirements for such animals.
One day I suppose you'll have to travel to see such great animals as lions, tigers, elephants, giraffe, rhino...
Assuming we manage to keep them on the planet.