More On: bronx zooThe Bronx Zoo features two elephants, Happy and Patty, who live separately along an acre each.
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Fortunately, the two elephants in the Bronx Zoo are still alive, but Happy and Patty have been deprived of everything that makes life worth living for members of their species. Along with my colleagues at the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), I am Happy's lawyer.
The Bronx Zoo—which acquired Happy in 1977 and trained her, along with other elephants, to perform tricks, which she did in costume as recently as the 1980s—said in 2006 that it intends to close its elephant exhibit after the pachyderms there now die.
What do zoos do when a large animal dies? They perform a necropsy – which can take all day for an animal as large as an elephant. They offer grief counseling for the staff. The remains are removed from the compound and cremated.
Today, the Bronx Zoo is world-renowned for its large and diverse animal collection, and its award-winning exhibitions. The zoo is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and it is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The Bronx Zoo said it has no plans to get another polar bear. Tundra was the last living polar bear in the city after Central Park' s neurotic polar bear Gus was euthanized in August 2013. Zoo officials put him down after an inoperable tumor was found near his thyroid during a medical procedure.
Elephants in circuses and roadside zoos are denied everything that gives their life meaning. Many become neurotic, unhealthy, depressed, and aggressive as a result of the inhumane conditions in which they're kept.
Bronx Zoo operator apologizes for racist display of African man in 1906. Ota Benga, a Central African man, was put on display in the monkey house in 1906 before Black ministers brought the disgraceful incident to an end, the zoo operator said.
Broadly, some elephant experts say urban zoos simply don't have the space that African elephants, who roam extensive distances in the wild to forage for hundreds of pounds of vegetation each day, need for a normal life.
The Bronx Zoo is the larger of the two, with more exhibits and animals, many of which are spectacular. If you have a full day it is well worth the visit.
With more than 700 different species spread across 265 acres of parkland thoughtfully designed to mimic natural habitats, the Bronx Zoo is a great place to escape from Manhattan for the day, especially if you're traveling with kids.
Anything remaining will be cremated, including even the tiniest of animals. “Everything from guppies to elephants is incinerated,” says Neiffer. While burials were once commonplace at zoos, very few bury their animals anymore.