Elephant Death in L.A. Zoo Prompts Debate Over Animal Confinement

June 12, 2006 — -- The death of an elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo has animal rights activists renewing a fight to get these large animals out of confinement.

Elephant exhibits are always among the most popular at zoos nationwide, but those who champion animal rights have long debated with zoo authorities whether elephants' captivity in zoos is humane.

On Saturday, Gita, a 48-year-old Asian elephant, was found sitting when zookeepers went to her yard. Despite medical attention, she died early that morning. A necropsy is under way, but the results will not be available until later this week.

There are currently about 300 African and Asian elephants in U.S. zoos, but one study predicts there will be fewer than 20 zoo elephants remaining within 50 years unless the animals are bred more successfully.

Nearly a dozen U.S. zoos, including San Francisco's, Chicago's and Detroit's have already shut down their elephant exhibits.

Game show host Bob Barker hopes this is just the start.

"I would personally like to see every zoo in the world closed," Barker told ABC News.

"Elephants have been exploited, they have been mistreated, they have been literally beaten and some of them killed," said Barker. "People want that changed."

Some elephants have developed joint and foot problems in zoos, where they spend all day on concrete floors.

Animal rights activists claim zoo enclosures are too small for the elephants to get proper exercise, and the resulting lack of activity, they say, leads the animals to become bored and lazy.

San Diego Zoo employees disagree with such claims, saying zoos can provide a suitable environment.

"It truly is not the size of the habitat," said Randy Rieches, a curator of mammals at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. "It's what you do for those animals within that habitat."

He said he also recognizes that mental stimulation is just as important as the space the elephants occupy.

"They're very intelligent creatures," said Rieches. "They cannot just languish in an exhibit. They must be given things to do."

The Wild Animal Park is making its elephants more active by giving them toys to play with, and letting them forage for hidden food. The elephants also spend minimal time standing on hard surfaces.