REPORT: MORE SPACE FOR ELEPHANTS.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer A new report says it may cost $10 million an acre to house elephants at 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. - a worthwhile expense for some animal enthusiasts, but a waste of money for others. A long-awaited study on elephant care at the Los Angeles Zoo has recommended adding one acre to a proposed Elephants of Surin exhibit - at a cost of up to $14 million. The three-acre rock-and-water exhibit proposed by the Chief Administrative Office could cost $33 million. ``I believe it is'' worth it, said Connie Morgan Constance "Connie" Enola Morgan (October 17 1935 - October 14 1996) was the third woman to play professional baseball in the Negro league. Morgan replaced second-base player and the first woman in the league Toni Stone in the Indianapolis Clowns in 1954. , president of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. ``Building new habitats (is) an expensive undertaking, but this serves to take care of the animals.'' In compiling the 75-page report, the CAO consulted more than 30 zoo professionals, biologists and activists worldwide to address Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's contention that the city's elephants need more space. City officials will soon decide whether to heed the report's recommendation, or resort to other options such as sending the zoo's three elephants to a sanctuary. Until then, nearly $11 million needed to complete a $19 million, two-acre exhibit has been put on hold. It is more than a year behind schedule. Zoo officials said they were studying the report and declined to comment. Councilman Tom LaBonge Tom LaBonge (b. Los Angeles 1953), member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 4th district. He has served since 2001, taking over the position upon the death of John Ferraro. , whose district includes the zoo, lauded the report, which said elephants Ruby, Gita and Billy were well cared for and in fairly good health. ``Obviously, it says - and this is near and dear to me - that all the children of this city and others be able to see the elephants in a very proper, larger facility, which I support,'' LaBonge said. ``The cost estimates I will look at with great scrutiny.'' Others were much more critical about the soaring cost of keeping elephants. ``The price tag on tag on Verb to add at the end of something: a throwaway remark, tagged on at the end of a casual conversation Verb 1. the exhibit is ridiculous,'' said Melya Kaplan, executive director of Voice for the Animals and a longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective critic of the Los Angeles Zoo. Her movie, ``Elephants and Man: A Litany litany (lĭt`ənē) [Gr.,=prayer], solemn prayer characterized by varying petitions with set responses. The term is mainly used for Christian forms. Litanies were developed in Christendom for use in processions. of Tragedy,'' screens today in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . ``In a city where we have a $268 million deficit, it is completely fiscally irresponsible.'' Kaplan and other activists say elephant digs at the zoo are too cramped cramped adj. 1. Uncomfortably small or restricted: cramped living quarters. 2. Difficult to read, especially for being crowded into a small space: cramped handwriting. to house the animals humanely and have demanded they be sent to a sanctuary. Zoo officials say their exhibit, as proposed, far exceeds the nation's standards of elephant care. Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com |
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