Pachyderm Forest

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Pachyderm Forest

Pachyderm Forest Position Statement

The Los Angeles City Council approved on January 28th, with a vote of 11 to 4 to complete construction of the six-acre, Pachyderm Forest. "Today is a victory for science, zoo visitors, staff, volunteers, donors and most importantly elephant welfare" states Zoo Director John Lewis, "we eagerly await the completion of the Pachyderm Forest so we may finish a world class habitat for elephants that will educate and inspire over a million zoo visitors each year."

Asian Elephants are critically endangered, numbering less than 30,000 individuals in the wild. The Zoo's Pachyderm Forest will address the challenges these enormous creatures face such as poaching and habitat fragmentation in four of their range countries-Cambodia, India, Thailand and China, and challenge visitors to make a difference for elephants.

The Zoo will work with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to best support the North American herd of Asian elephants. The facility is designed with the flexibility to hold multiple bulls, cows with calves and aged animals. The Zoo's new habitat will feature a variety of features for the elephants including bathing pools, waterfalls, varied topography, sand pits, shady retreats and grassy hills.

January 28, 2009: L.A. City Council Votes to Continue Building the Zoo's Pachyderm Forest. Read the L.A. Times Article.

January 24, 2009 Media Update: L.A. Times Editorial, "L.A.'s Pachyderm Forest Should Be Built."

December 4, 2008 Press Release: GLAZA Makes Additional Commitment of Funds for Completion of the Zoo's Pachyderm Forest

December 23, 2008 Media Update: Article on Elephant Longevity in AZA-accredited Zoos.

Expansion of the L.A. Zoo’s Elephant Program

Majestic and imposing, the elephant is the largest land mammal in the world. Elephants once roamed the forests and savannas of Asia and Africa in sizeable herds, but today their numbers have drastically diminished. Threatened by habitat loss, the illegal ivory trade, and encroachment of human populations into wildlife areas, Asian elephants are especially imperiled, with fewer than 35,000 remaining.

The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is committed to the conservation of these magnificent mammals. Since the late 1980s, we have been a proud participant in the Elephant Species Survival Plan (SSP), through which we are linked with zoos nationwide in breeding programs designed to ensure that elephants not only survive but thrive — so they will continue to roam the earth for generations to come. Elephants are a vital part of the Zoo’s animal collection, a valuable educational resource, and a flagship species for promoting wildlife conservation.

The newest phase in the evolution of elephant care at the Zoo is Pachyderm Forest, a state-of-the-art elephant habitat currently under construction in the heart of the Zoo. With more than six acres — nearly seven times the size of our current elephant space — this exhibit will be the largest animal habitat in the L.A. Zoo, and one of the largest of any urban zoo in the country. The Zoo’s elephant management program has been hailed as “a model for all to observe" by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the organization which accredits zoological institutions nationwide.

Pachyderm Forest Fact Sheet

Size and Scope
The exhibit covers a total area of 6 acres with 3.6 acres available for the elephants to roam. (You need only drive two hours south to the San Diego Wild Animal Park to see a vibrant, healthy herd of elephants in a similar-sized space.) Pachyderm Forest will give our elephants a variety of choices including pools, mudholes, waterfalls, waterholes, varied topography and substrates, and a new state-of-the-art barn to manage and care for these animals. This exhibit will set the standard for zoo management of these endangered species through providing the highest level of husbandry and veterinary care and the ability for elephants to care for themselves with minimal staff interaction.

Nationwide Trends and Statistics
Adding or expanding elephant exhibits is a national trend among AZA-accredited zoos. While a handful of zoos have decided – for a variety of reasons pertaining to their own unique situations — to close or phase out their elephant exhibits, 61 AZA institutions have built new elephant exhibits or are planning to renovate their current habitats. Several institutions, such as Tampa and Nashville, have built entirely new exhibits to establish elephant programs at their zoos. Zoos in San Diego, Washington D.C., Denver, and Cleveland are greatly expanding their existing elephant programs. Our new habitat will join this trend and demonstrates our continued commitment to providing the best possible care to our elephants.

Status of Elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo
Billy, the Zoo’s 23-year-old male Asian elephant, is in good health. He receives excellent care and companionship from our zoo staff, exercises daily, and will shortly move into a larger, just completed yard in the Pachyderm Forest. In fact, an independent review of our elephant program conducted by the City Administrative Officer in 2005 reported that the care and management of elephants currently provided by the Zoo meets the highest standards. The study’s independent veterinarian found that the Los Angeles Zoo Elephant Management Program “meets or exceeds” the stringent standards set forth by the AZA.

The elephant care professionals at the Los Angeles Zoo are trusted experts on the health and welfare of elephants. Our keepers and veterinary staff utilize an extensive network of scientific advisors covering the disciplines of nutrition, veterinary medicine, pathology, behavior, reproduction, population management, education, and research. They attend conferences and workshops and participate in field work and conservation projects throughout the world, and apply the insights gained in such pursuits to the animals here in our care. With five full-time on-site veterinarians, state-of-the-art surgical and intensive care facilities, and advanced diagnostic capabilities including digital radiography, ultrasound, and endoscopy equipment, the Zoo’s Gottlieb Animal Health and Conservation Center provides unparalleled care for all the Zoo’s animal residents, including elephants.

Potential Size of Elephant Herd at the Los Angeles Zoo
Once Pachyderm Forest is complete, the Zoo plans to establish a small breeding group consisting of one male and three female elephants. The large elephant barn will afford staff flexibility in managing the herd while also allowing room for growth. The herd size is likely to fluctuate, up and down, throughout the years based on many factors, including AZA recommendations.

Conservation and Education
The new Pachyderm Forest will be more than just an elephant exhibit. The visitor experience will address the conservation challenges elephants face in Thailand, Cambodia, India, and China. We are concerned that effective conservation programs take place in these native habitats. In the past two years we have sent $53,000 to conservation biologists who work with wild populations of elephants throughout Southeast Asia. We hope to encourage visitors to this new facility to make their own contributions towards elephant conservation.

Elephants in AZA-accredited zoos help educate visitors, make emotional connections, and change behaviors that positively impact elephants and other wildlife. In a Harris Interactive poll, 95 percent of Americans said that seeing elephant in zoos help people appreciate them more. In the last 10 years, AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums formally trained more than 400,000 teachers, supporting science curricula with effective teaching materials and hands-on opportunities. At the Los Angeles Zoo, every year school field trips connect more than 120,000 students with the natural world, andmore than 400,000 more children join their parents in visits to the Zoo. It is our goal that the Pachyderm Forest will inspire and educate the 1.6 million annual guests about elephants and take action to protect the future of this magnificent species.

Pachyderm Forest construction is 30% complete and is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2010.

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