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An Open Letter to the Los Angeles City CouncilZoo authors Allen Nyhuis and Jon Wassner ask Council to spare Billy and build Pachyderm Forest at the LA ZooJanuary 26, 2009 City Council of Los Angeles Dear Council Member: As longtime animal-lovers and coauthors of the 2008 book, America’s Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families (Intrepid Traveler), we have followed with interest the progress of the Los Angeles Zoo’s efforts to build an excellent new elephant exhibit, “Pachyderm Forest.” We have also watched with sadness the misguided efforts of a small group to stop the construction of this exhibit.
I (Allen) was born there in Van Nuys and therefore I consider LA to be my “homeland.” For that reason, I take pride in the city’s cultural, recreational, and educational offerings for its millions of citizens. As the father of four, I believe it would be a terrible shame if LA’s many children could no longer see an elephant in person. I am also a professional MS-level statistician, with over 25 years of experience in the field. The animal rights activists opposing this new home for Billy often cite a research paper which states that elephants live longer in the wild than in (European) zoos. As a statistician, I believe the assumptions, research methods, and statistics in this paper are flawed and are the result of the researchers’ anti-zoo bias. I (Jon) have personally worked in three different zoos, including working with African elephants at the Indianapolis Zoo. With its elephant herd, including two calves and a bull, the Indianapolis program closely resembles what LA is trying to achieve. From my experience, I can say without question that elephants thrive in zoos and, by sheer awe, provide the most intimate connection between guests and zoo animals. The new Pachyderm Forest exhibit will have the best features from a compilation of elephant care knowledge gained at zoos over the last 30 years, which will ensure the physical, social, and psychological needs of elephants are met or exceeded. These elements will provide a state-of-the-art atmosphere for the pachyderms, and allow for continuing research on elephants and their habitats, which will improve elephant husbandry around the world. By safely housing a bull elephant along with several females, LA will accurately re-create the social tendencies of a wild Asian elephant herd. It is imperative, not only for the citizens of Los Angeles, but more importantly for the Asian elephant species, for the LA Zoo to be an ambassador for conserving wild elephants. Billy, the zoo’s young bull, will finally have the opportunity to father calves and broaden the gene pool for his endangered species. In conclusion, we believe this is a vital opportunity for the Los Angeles Zoo to become a world leader in the care, education, research, and conservation of Asian elephants. Billy will not receive better care at a ranch-like sanctuary which is not accountable to the regulations of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, as the Los Angeles Zoo is. Besides, such sanctuaries are inaccessible and too expensive for LA’s citizens to go to see elephants in person. We endorse the completion of Pachyderm Forest and we look forward to visiting it ourselves when it opens. Sincerely, Allen W Nyhuis Jon Wassner
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