Despite contract, Oregon Zoo claims baby elephant 'will be here for life'
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PORTLAND, Ore. – A strange and shocking development came to light Monday night after The Seattle Times reported that Rose-Tu’s new baby elephant born just last week belongs to a traveling circus.
According to The Times, the Oregon Zoo has a valid contract with the traveling circus known as “Have Trunk Will Travel” and doesn’t have legal custody of the calf. According to a contract obtained by The Times, Have Trunk Will Travel is the rightful owner the second offspring of bull elephant Tusko, which is this baby.
The contact says Have Trunk Will Travel can obtain ownership of the elephant calf after it has been alive for 30 days. 30 days after the birth will be Dec. 30.
Zoo spokesman Hova Najarian confirmed the existence of the contract to KATU News late Monday night but said the zoo is in talks with the traveling circus to keep the calf in Portland.
In an email, Najarian said reports of the contract are "true" but also said it has been "no secret" and reported on by local media in the past.
“The elephant is not going anywhere. The elephant will be here for life,” said Najarian. He said a news conference with Zoo director Kim Smith to "address the inaccuracies in today’s Seattle Times article" is planned for Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m., according to a press release.
A post on the Oregon Zoo's Facebook page Tuesday morning read:
Rest assured the fate of the zoo’s latest arrival is not, and has never been in question. We will be clarifying the inaccuracies contained in this article and will reach out in the morning to local media with more information. The zoo remains committed to its vision of "elephants being elephants" and allowing the opportunity for them to live in family groups for generations.
According to The Times, "Have Trunk Will Travel," is controversial and rents out elephants to the entertainment industry.
this selfish  ignorant  humans  never rest  until  they hurt  animals .. i say all kind of animals,  one way or the other they try to  hurt them  all around the world ..  they create  stupid  meaningless  heart breaking  new games ..Â
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 its sickening to see this magnificent  intelligent animal  cornered  in a cubicle  and unable to move around .....how sick  we humans are  ?  Elephants should be in SANCTUARY  with his own kind or  in WILD .......pls do not  go to circuses  ( even if you got your  ticket free )  where animals used  animals are not  for entertaining  ..they are not toys to move around ... its about time we put to an end  to this none sense ...... if we call our self  most  advanced  being  or  Civilized nation .......Â
I will not say please to anybody! What you people are about to do is cruel and inhumane! Your nothing but a bunch of money hungry idiots! I don't like you nor have any respect at all. Hold your heads high knowing you killed this baby something to be proud of isn't it; Hold your heads high and be proud of how inhumane you are. They should make a circus with just you clowns! I'd pay for that one. LOSERS! Its time good people stood up and put an end to people like you!. Be a pleasure! SICK MINDED IF YOUR NOT TO DUMB HA HA YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE REST OF THAT STATEMENT......... Where is justice when you need it. Dosen't say much for people in law does it now!
And what about Samudra? He is just 4 years old and still needs his mother Rose-Tu. It's possible they may sell him too, as male elephants are much harder and more expensive for zoos to keep.
I copied this from another site, please do not separate this calf from its' mother.
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elephants live in such close-knit herds and live for about as long as humans do (approximately 70 years), they form strong bonds with those around them. When these ones die, the rest of the herd mourns that death. Mothers and aunts are also prone to mourning a still-born calf. The mother of a dead calf (whether at birth or later on in its life) shows her grief through her physical disposition. Her eyes are sunken and her ears drooping, her mood is visibly miserable.
Oregon Zoo --- Do not let ANYONE take beby elephant --- It is cruel and extremely hurtful to the herd !!!! Be clear to all --- we have needed a girl elephant for years!!! DO NOT let her be taken away !!!!
Here is the undercover ADI investigation of HTWT--they are real scum-- shame Oregon Zoo
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http://vimeo.com/23564589
We need to get a grip on ourselves...me included. I blame this on Disney's Dumbo...at 63 I still weep at the farewell scene between Dumbo and his mommy. But we need to look at things realistically. 1. Do we really want to take away good, sound options for the future placement of our elephants? There's only so many elephants that you can keep. 2. If we can agree that this is an option that's needed, let's just make sure that any contract agreed on is with a reputable, well-funded and humane organization. We aren't about to throw our animals into the brink. 3. I'd like to see a contract that says, "if and when an animal is to be transfered to another site, it's done when the animal is well socialized and no longer dependent on it's mother"...I think we can agree that a teenager would fit this perfectly LOL 4. I'd also like to see an organization having to keep us updated on the transfered animal in a yearly repory as to health, socialilzation, manners, etc. 5. I'd also like to see us with the ability to perform a yearly inspection on-site as to where our animal was transfered so we can see for ourselves how care is being handled, etc. 6. Also, if another entity wants to use or purchase our transfered animal (circus, movies, etc) we would have to be involved in the whole process and our vote on either permission to do so, or not, be fully reviewed and accepted. That to me is a good contract.
 @fracas The problem with that is, that it is a human mindset. If you research Elephants, they don't work like that. The boys stay with the herd until they begin to reach sexual maturity and then they go join a bachelor band and hang out and fight and breed any female that will let them---kind of like our young adults. The females, however--they form matriarchal herds where generation after generation of females related by blood live together as a family unit. If you google "Echo the elephant" and read...you will understand the psychological trauma that losing a member of the herd causes these incredibly intelligent beings. Echo was the matriarch of an African Elephant herd who recently died. When she passed away the herd fragmented. The daughter they thought would take over as natural leader was so grief stricken she stood where Echo's corpse was for months, mourning, barely taking food or water. The game keepers on the preserve were terrified she was going to die, too. The herd split into two...and well, the rest of the story is there if you care to look in to in. Needless to say, elephants will not only mourn the passing of a loved one, they will return time and time again to caress the bones of their fallen family member. Imagine having your baby dragged from you, kicking and screaming? How would you feel? That's exactly how Rose-Tu will feel if her baby is taken from her. I don't remember the zoo having her footpad a contract agreeing to surrogacy for another agency.
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Elephants that are transplanted into another herd are not only grief-stricken, but they face very real hazing from the other elephants. So an elephant who has grown up surrounded with her aunties and smothered in their love and affection is suddenly yanked away and transplanted with a group of unfamiliar animals and beaten, picked on, and shunned by them. This is good for this poor animal's psyche how?!
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As to maintaining the viability of a herd and "not being able to keep extra animals" Then hey--NOVEL suggestion. If you don't have the means to keep animals you are adding to your herd, DON'T breed any more. Problem solved. This BS not only clearly blows everything the Oregon zoo touts about "understanding" their animals out the window...it also calls into question their ethics and how their funds are being spent.
So quit breeding the elephants if you cannot afford them. Don't go signing contracts to farm them out !! To quote Forest Gump... STUPID IS as STUPID DOES
The Oregon Zoo deleted my posting on their FB page asking for answers. It was a straight forward question and they are now deleting anything negative from their page. Not transparent.Â
Oregon Zoo...welcome to the world of (anti)Social Media and (mis)Information Campaigns.
Have contract will travel (in less than 30 days). Oh I forgot this is the State of Sam Adams and Comrade Kitzhaber, laws and contracts don't mean anything to them. Folks don't get me wrong, I would like the little one to stay also at the zoo, but they signed a contract. Time to pay up.
This wasn't a contract. It was a pact with the devil!
The Oregon Zoo, and director Kim Smith have shown their true colors. All that matters to this organization is money. It is not the emotional and physical well being of the world's largest land mammals in their care. 8 elephants on one acre of land is hording. Oregon Zoo these are sentient, intelligent, and emotional beings not merely units of production. The new baby will stay with her mother forever, and Sam would stay by his Mother's side until he is 15 in the wild. To pull Sam away from Rose TU, and sell off the new baby within her first 60 days of life proves the breeding program at the Oregon Zoo is really only about money and not about the survival of the species as Kim Smith claims because they would not attempt to kill Rose Tu her with sadness-- if she really mattered to them--You do not force a Mother to carry a calf for two years, and then take it away in 30 days--If you care. This only ensures that HTWT will be able to break the baby's spirit, and beat the baby into submission-- Oregon Zoo how can you break a Mother's, spirit and heart and steal her babies and sell them off to the circus and claim you care? Rose Tu is NOT a breeding vessel, and her offspring are NOT for sale--the Oregon Tax payers have payed for these animals.
Now is time for the citizen's of Oregon to demand the Zoo relinquish their female elephants to sanctuary.
 Poor Packy has been living alone for 50 years-- He has never gotten to make any decisions on how he spends his days.  This not ok for highly intelligent animals --Kim Smith how would you like to live alone in a concrete sell for 50 years? Oregon citizens please, let's make sure a life of isolation is not Sam's fate, and that the Oregon Zoo stops breeding elephants for circuses or Zoos. Â
 @Darling Dasher Right on! Evolve, people!!
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@Darling Dasher Darling....Packy hasn't been "living alone" for 50 years! He's happy and has sired 7 children...ya don't do that by living alone lol He has his favorite foods prepared for him each day (he has a special bread that he really loves), and he has companionship of both handlers that love him and his animal buddies. I'm totally against what has happened with this morning's news...but let's not overdramatize an already bad situation.
 @fracas  @Darling Packy doesn't give a flying hoot about "baked bread." That is the only comfort offered. The Zoo PR  spins hard. He would run from the best baked bread in the world to roam where the world stretches as far as his eye can see, his trunk can smell.
 @fracas  @Darling  Ok if Packy has it so great you go trade places with him
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He is alone and has been for 50 years. Where have you been? He has sired 7 children Not one has he has spent any time with-- Packy is more then a sperm donor- he has relationships with his handlers because he has too-- NOt because it is his choice. Let's give Packy a choice on whether he will rather roam a 2000 foot sanctuary or stay on less then one acre with 7 other miserably depressed elephants--to get to see Bob lee daily gee--let me guess?
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Here is a link for HTWT-- the cruel organization that the Oregon Zoo does business with -- because they care-- Not
http://vimeo.com/23564589
After hearing the zoo director at this morning's press conference about our baby elephant, I am even more concerned! Her scripted, repetitive presentation and answers are suspicious. She did not answer simple direct questions. PETA and internationally known elephant experts are critical of Have Truck Will Travel. The fact the Oregon Zoo is in business with this kind of organization that treats elephants disrepectfully is of great concern to me. Personally, I do not support zoos and the Oregon zoo is all about making as much money as possible breeding and selling animals. They will expoit this baby who will live a miserable life with her family in a pitiful cramped unnatural environment, to make as much money as possible on ticket sales and souvenirs. Elephants need a lot of space, acres and acres, to roam. Just like the grizzly bears here in North America. I always vote against any ballot measure that expands money for the zoo.
 @Betty Lost me at PETA that group undermines every legitimate effort with it's horrible track record and grandstanding.Â
@Bodagris @Betty I also, in regards to PETA. They're buffoons who do more harm than good. Their over-dramatic rantings and "investigations" are just ludicrous. Things are bad enough without them getting into the battle :(
@Betty I'm so disheartened by this situation...but really...go to the Have Trunk Will Travel website. The elephants there seem to have acres and acres of land to stomp around in. Go to www.havetrunkwilltravel.com/ and look. Of course...what they seem like and what they actually do are two different things. All the acreage in the world means nothing if you are mistreated :(
@fracas What you see on a website from a disreputible organization is not reliable. Elephant sanctuaries are what I am referring to. Where the elephants are allowed to life as natural a life as possible and it is not about money. A true sanctuary is not open to the public or has VERY LIMITED public viewing. In regards to PETA, who else is out there advocating for animals. Of course there is going to be a lot of attack on them orchestrated by those they go after who usually are big corporations with lots of money.
 @Betty  @fracas There are plenty of groups that advocate animals protection without the miserable track record of PETA.  They spend the majority of their budget on self-promotion and destroy the majority of the animals they "rescue".  I wish we could censor them as they do nothing but undermine other worthy efforts.Â
It still wasn't explained why we have this contract with HTWT. So....are they a dumping ground on where to send elephants when the zoo gets overcrowded? When the zoo needs big projects (like for this new elephant habitate supposedly on the books) do we "sell" a baby to HTWT and they respond with money? Does HTWT pay for the annual maintenance of a new baby, and in return get that baby when they need one? Why would they need one? According to their website they have quite a few elephants now. So tell me...what is the contract for? What was it that made us go into a contractual agreement with them?
I want to make it very clear I am NOT defending HTWT. I have not even heard of them until this story was aired. fracas, you asked why HTWT would need a baby elephant when they have quite a few elephants now. The answer is simple - genetic diversity.
@theprodigal They already have that diversity...they have quite a large herd of their own.
 @fracas  @theprodigal  Speaking in regard to genetic diversity, it doesn't matter how large the herd is.  If new genes are not introduced every now and again, the herd will eventually become inbred.
http://www.change.org/petitions/oregon-zoo-stop-contract-between-oregon-zoo-and-have-trunks-will-travel#
It won't do much good, you can sign all the petitions you want to but if they have a contract it's legally binding.  It's not like they can put it up for a vote. I maintain people should direct their attention to HTWT.
@yahdayahda Contracts have a shelf-life...it depends on how many years it's for and when the renewal date comes up.
@yahdayahda It will when the renewal date comes up. That's what needs to be found out.
Yes, but a petition won't have any impact on that.
 @Briana Steiner I love that you made this! Anyway you can change it so it says "Stop all contracts"
@Rae0224 @Briana Steiner You can't single out one company. Lots of investigation is needed to single out one place like HTWT. I think we can all agree that places like PETA are over the top with the so-called investigations they run. You need legal documents showing any wrong-doing by a particular company.
 @fracas  @Rae0224   No, I disagree. I think it is organizations like PETA who go overboard and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Thank goodness for PETA no matter how overboard they may be.Â
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@portlandborn83 No thanks....I can't look at those things...breaks my heart and really upsets me for days on end :(
@fracas Another messed up thing about peta is that they actually kill animals...I can send you a link to the article if you want.
I do remember reading several times in the past that Tusko and other animals are "on loan" via breeding programs, so I think she's right that this is not a secret. The 2,4,6 baby deal is though, as far as I know. Personally I think it doesn't do any good at this moment to put pressure on the zoo, there's not much they can do about it now. I would direct attention to Have Trunk Will Travel and insist that they announce their intentions, and be mindful of what entertainment you support (i.e. circuses vs. zoos). HTWT should be putting out a press release, if they're smart.
 @yahdayahda The Zoo owes us answers as to why they have contracts or "loan programs" in the first place. This isn't about the new baby anymore, this is much bigger. And, yes this is a surprise to some of us.Â
@Rae0224 @yahdayahda Without the loan programs the Zoo would not be able to breed the animals that they do.
The zoo does not own all the animals there, elephant or otherwise. I think most people have always known that. If I owned an elephant, I would sure as heck keep it at a zoo. But yes, they should have been more up front about this when they announced that Rose-tu was preggo, unless they knew that it was never going to be leaving.Â
 @yahdayahda @Rae0224 @betty you all are right> any place *but* the natural environment that supports any animal is a forced and torturous existence, no matter what criteria our species's self-inflated prejudices calls facts. Give Ireland back to the Irish, and spend all the money on zoos, breeding and circuses  protecting and preserving wildlife areas, where sentient beings who do not speak live a satisfying life without torment.
I agree. Although it's my understanding this company also rents out to movies, etc. Not just a circus. But I agree, a circus is a horrible place for an animal.
Better than a circus, though. Hopefully this little one won't have to be a performer.Â
 @yahdayahda But a circus? Really???
@yahdayahda This animals do not live in a healthy environment. It is a horrible environment and unnatural. They all need to be on a preserve with acres and acres of land. The Oregon Zoo managers are just interested in their lucrative 6 figure salaries and the ego of brokering animals.
I think you will find most zoos do not "own" all of their animals. They would be bankrupt if they did. You are paying to provide the animals that live there with a healthy environment and habitat, but not all of them will live there forever.
 @yahdayahda Then why are we supporting a zoo that doesn't own the animals? We just pay and have no say?
I'm very interested in what Have Trunk Will Travel thinks about the press conference. Â I wonder if they really are as supportive of Kim's "vision"? Â I just can't believe that a for-profit company will be keen to give up a potential revenue source.
@Beti Check what PETA and elephant experts say about Have Trunk Wil Travel. It is not complimentary and this is who the Oregon Zoo is in business with!