ELEPHANT BACK FROM KNOXVILLE TO L.A. ZOO.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer Ruby the elephant returned to the Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo founded in 1966, is a large zoo located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Zoo, located in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is home to 1,200 animals from around the world. early Sunday after a failed attempt to get her settled at a Tennessee zoo, but it could be two years before the public can see her. Los Angeles Zoo officials hope to have new elephant habitat built by the end of 2006. Until then, the 43-year-old African elephant is expected to be kept in half of an 8,300-square-foot compound in a private area. Zoo officials, who may start an Asian elephant Asian elephant Elaphus maximus. breeding program A breeding program is the planned breeding of a group of animals or plants, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several generations. Breeding programs are commonly employed in several fields where humans wish to manage the characteristics of their , have not ruled out the possibility of moving Ruby to a zoo where she could be with a herd of African elephants. ``We're very pleased that she's back and that she's healthy,'' Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California said as he stood in front of the compound where Ruby and Tara, the zoo's other African elephant, are kept. Ruby was delivered to the zoo at about 1 a.m. Sunday after a 40-hour drive from Knoxville, Tenn. She was moved to the Knoxville Zoo Knoxville Zoo is an zoo located in Knoxville, TN. The Knoxville Zoo has more than 800 animals and has had success breeding animals, especially Red Pandas and White Rhinos. in May 2003 to be an ``auntie'' in the African elephant breeding program there. But Ruby acted aggressively toward the other female elephants and never fit in. Animal-rights activists said Ruby was unhappy about being separated from Gita, an Asian elephant and her longtime friend at the L.A. Zoo. Hahn gave orders in July for city-owned Ruby to be returned to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . She will be quarantined for 30 days and will eventually be reintroduced to Gita, on exhibit in Los Angeles. On Sunday four demonstrators, standing near the entrance to the zoo, found little consolation in Ruby's pending reunion with Gita. ``We want her to go to a sanctuary. But more than that, we want them to close this exhibit and (have) the four elephants that are here go to a sanctuary,'' said Bill Dyer, In Defense of Animals In Defense of Animals (IDA) is an animal welfare organisation based in San Rafael, California, USA. Its slogan is "working to protect the rights, welfare, and habitats of animals". regional director. Officials in Detroit and San Francisco have decided to send their zoo elephants to sanctuaries. But Los Angeles Zoo Director John Lewis said that elephants have all their needs met in zoos and that their life spans in captivity are comparable to those of wild elephants. Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ruby, the 43-year-old African elephant whose move to Tennessee last year from Los Angeles angered some animal-rights activists, was returned to L.A. early Sunday. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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