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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Maggie the Elephant skates down from the Glacier



Can't say that I blame her for seeking out warmer climes.

In Anchorage, Maggie, who has been alone for 10 years since the death of the zoo's other elephant, Annabelle, lived in a house with concrete floors and a small outside enclosure.

Debate over her conditions has rumbled on for years, but the decision to move her came recently after the fire department was called out twice in a week to hoist her to her feet because she could not stand unaided.

An earlier attempt by the zoo board to offset criticism of Maggie's condition failed. They bought her a treadmill but she refused to climb on to it.


Having been to Alaska twice, I can certify that the top temperature there is in the range of zero degrees. Imagine getting a tread mill for an elephant? Having lived in Sacramento, I think that the climate is a bit more elephant friendly and may allow some of her joints to unfreeze. Talk about pulling out the short straw when the elephants were choosing zoos back in Africa. From the Africa to Alaska. Poor Maggie what rotten luck.

4 comments:

Liz Hinds said...

Oh bless her! That is so cruel.

Yet Hannibal took elephants through the Alps and that must have been cold. Or perhaps it wasn't. Or perhaps he didn't ...

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Oh, I do feel for her! I am always cold so can I cuddle her?

fake consultant said...

in fairness, her issues might have been as related to being lonely as to her climate...elephants are highly social, and it must have been horrible for her to have no companionship.

Anonymous said...

Hi. As an Alaskan resident since birth, I am going to correct you on a few things. Alaska has high temperatures of the 80s. Anchorage, where Maggie lived, ranges from -10 F to 85F. It is cold in the winter, but Maggie had a heated inside that was pretty large. She never liked Annabelle, they fought a lot and really, they shouldn't have been together. BUT, since everyone is so down on the Alaska Zoo, I'd like to note that the Alaska zoo rescues animals that were abandoned or injured and unable to return to natural environment and would have died. The reason the Alaska Zoo opened is because of Maggie and Annabelle. They were circus elephants (btw, Maggie is an Asian elephant, not an African elephant. Annabelle was the African elephant), living in a rather large heated garage in Alaska after a couple rescued them for a sanctuary here in Alaska. When the person could no longer take care of them properly, a grant was sought through the state to find a way to take care of them.