Some say an elephant never forgets. But Hogle Zoo's elephants, Hi-Dari, Christie and Misha, may not remember their old habitat because their new $5.5 million digs are so comfortable.
Earlier this month, Hogle Zoo opened its new Elephant Encounter exhibit, funded with a $10.2 million general obligation bond approved by Salt Lake voters in 2003.
The new exhibit makes Hogle the leader of the pack (or herd) in elephant habitats and makes the zoo more eligible to get and breed additional pachyderms.
"Hogle Zoo is leading," said Bill Foster, American Zoo and Aquarium Association president. "They are ahead of the curve. (Hogle) Zoo will be known globally for the advancement that it's making now."
Hogle Zoo is one of 211 zoos accredited by the nonprofit AZA.
The Elephant Encounter exhibit tripled the space the elephants previously had, so Hogle could obtain and breed up to three more elephants, bringing the total to six.
"We're looking for new prospects right now," Hogle executive director Craig Dinsmore said. But, he noted, elephants are difficult to acquire.
The process could take a few months or even years, but because Hogle has taken a leadership role, Dinsmore said, its "elephant stock" increases. Currently Hogle can only accommodate one extra elephant because white rhinos Princess and George are living in the Elephant Encounter exhibit until their habitat, African Savanna, is completed.
"Breeding is certainly part of our long-range plan," Dinsmore said.
Breeding could happen one of three ways, he said. Hogle has no bulls, so the zoo could send one of its females to another zoo to breed with a male, bring a male to Hogle to breed with a female or artificially inseminate a female so no elephants have to move.
Under AZA, zoos wanting to obtain elephants must get an elephant through AZA's species survival plan, a computer registry of the roughly 300 elephants under AZA and other elephants available across the nation and around the world. The registry records elephants' genders, ages, weights and even characteristics to make sure elephants will get along socially. Foster describes it as a "computerized dating game."
In 2001, AZA announced new standards for elephant management and care that AZA institutions holding elephants are required to comply with by May 2006. Because of resource limitations, many AZA institutions opted out of holding elephants and relocated the beasts. But 40 of the 78 institutions that kept their elephants are planning new elephant exhibits or dramatic renovations to comply with the new requirements.
"Some facilities have made the right choice and gotten out of it," Foster said. "And Salt Lake City, thank goodness . . . decided they wanted to have the best of the best, the newest model with all the bells and whistles."
With a 110,000-gallon swimming channel, three separate yards, a heated surface and varying terrain, the naturalistic features at Hogle serve as a model for other zoos.
Foster said many zoos are updating elephant habitats, especially after several controversial animal deaths in the past year. At Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, an AZA-accredited institution, elephants Tatima and Peaches died and a third elephant, Wankie — who was being moved to Hogle Zoo after the death of her companions — became sick en route to Utah and was euthanized.
Zoo critics say some elephants don't survive in zoos because of the small space and lack of socialization. In Defense of Animals, a California-based international animal protection organization, believes zoos should leave elephants in the wild. The group says captivity dooms the beasts to short lives.
Les Schobert, a retired 30-year zoo curator and an independent consultant for the group, said elephants need to be in a herd of at least 15 elephants and have lots of acres to roam. In response, Foster said elephants live enriched lives in zoos. He said the reason animals move so much in the wild is to seek security or food. In a zoo, he said, elephants have food, protected environments and veterinary care.
"Yes, they can move miles," he said, "but only because they have too."
Seeing elephants in the zoo promotes education and animal conservation, AZA says. Recently, the organization released a study that said when a U.S. adult sees an elephant in person, they are more apt to donate time or money to animal conservation efforts.
AZA executive director Sid Butler said the organization has more than 800 total conservation projects, 84 that deal specifically with elephants.
"We all know the world is getting smaller every day and in ways that aren't particularly kind to animals," he said, adding that more than 1,000 elephants were killed in the world last year.
Butler said unprotected animals mixing with humans can be disastrous. But animals mixing with humans in a zoo helps conservation.
AZA is hoping other zoos can learn from Hogle.
"(Hogle's) put a new standard in exhibit design," Foster said. "Elephants are going to be a part of our global wildlife, and Hogle and other AZA-accredited institutions are going to play a big part in telling the elephant's story."
E-mail: astowell@desnews.com