Critics of the Seattle elephants’ transfer to Oklahoma said Thursday’s incident where an Oklahoma City Zoo tiger escaped its enclosure raised questions about the zoo’s handling of animals.
Thursday afternoon, a 4-year-old Sumatran tiger named Lola got out of its enclosure and was stuck in a fenced area.
Zoo officials said they issued a “Code Red,” alerting zoo staff to the situation. In a statement, they said:
“In keeping with the Zoo’s safety protocol, the public was ushered out of the Cat Forest area and Zoo-wide announcements were made to inform guests of the situation. The veterinary team immobilized the animal at approximately 2:02 p.m. to extricate her from the space between the exhibits and transport her to the tiger holding building. The veterinary staff is monitoring her condition and she continues to recover well from the immobilization. The emergency alert was cleared by 2:25 p.m. and the Zoo resumed normal operations.”
Visitors to the zoo told the CBS station in Oklahoma City that they were kept indoors out of caution.
“We ran, we were weren't really thinking about anything, we were just going, we were just running out. It was just pretty – pretty intense,” said Dean Smith.
Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo began transferring its two Asian elephants to the Oklahoma City Zoo on April 16.
Critics have long called for those elephants, Chai and Bamboo, to be sent to a sanctuary instead of a zoo.
With this incident, Nicole Meyer, a campaign adviser for Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, said this raises questions about how secure the enclosures are.
“It also raises serious questions about safe handling of all the other animals at these zoos, including the elephants,” Meyer said.
This incident comes two weeks after a six-month old lion cub escaped its enclosure at Woodland Park Zoo, the same day the elephants began their journey to Oklahoma.
“It’s a very serious breach – a public safety breach. It endangers the animals, it endangers the public, the employees,” she said.
Chai and Bamboo are currently staying at the San Diego Zoo, because they had to be rerouted to avoid a bad storm on their way to Oklahoma.
The group Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants has filed complaints with the United States Department of Agriculture, asking the agency to investigate the transfer process as well as the escape of the lion cub.
Woodland Park Zoo staff told KIRO 7:
“At Oklahoma City Zoo, Bamboo and Chai would join a family of elephants including two young adults, a 4 year old and an infant. This is a natural and positive dynamic for female elephants. Oklahoma City Zoo has extensive experience integrating elephants.
Oklahoma City Zoo was found to best meet the criteria established by Woodland Park Zoo, which was based on recommendations from animal welfare experts: a social herd of Asian elephants into which Chai and Bamboo may successfully integrate, a state-of-the-art facility, a healthy environment free of active infectious disease, high-caliber elephant keeper and veterinary staff, a restricted contact management system and an established history of stable finances and leadership.”
KIRO
