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Keepers try to save the elephant calf - unsuccessfully.
Picture: Zoo Zürich
After the death of another elephant calf, those responsible at Zurich Zoo are coming under pressure. Animal rights activists are calling for an end to breeding, while the zoo defends its role in species conservation.
On June 2, an elephant calf was euthanized at Zurich Zoo shortly after birth. According to a statement from the zoo, it was unable to put weight on its hind legs. Since 2016, a total of eleven elephants have died or been euthanized at Zurich Zoo, eight of which were young animals or calves.
In 2020, one elephant calf was killed by the herd after birth. In 2022, three young animals died of a virus. They were two, five and eight years old. A six-month-old calf died last year after an accident. Two other calves born in 2020 and 2023 were, like the calf now, unable to survive due to malformation or lack of vitality.
«Deaths of young elephants are apparently becoming increasingly common in Zurich.»
Keith Lindsay
Conservation biologist
"Such prenatal disorders can occur in all animal species, both in zoos and in wild populations, and are part of the natural risks of reproduction," writes Zurich Zoo in a statement on the latest death.
Elephant expert Keith Lindsay has a different opinion. The Briton works as a consultant for the Swiss nature conservation organization Fondation Franz Weber. The organization has publicly criticized the keeping of elephants in zoos on several occasions.
"Due to the controlled environment in zoos, the risk of death in captivity should be significantly lower than in the wild, where birth defects are rare," says the expert. "Instead, deaths among young elephants in Zurich seem to be increasingly becoming the rule."
"What has happened in recent years is extremely frustrating for us," says Zurich Zoo Director Severin Dressen when asked by blue News. However, he emphasizes that there is no connection between the individual deaths: "In 2022, three younger elephants died due to a viral disease. This is not connected to the malformations. In addition, it was different cows that gave birth to calves with malformations. If it was always the same mother, we would know that we are no longer allowed to breed with her."
Although the sire of some of the malformed calves was the same, he would also have produced viable offspring with the cows. "These were individual cases that occurred close together but completely independently of each other."
It is impossible to say whether an above-average number of elephants die at Zurich Zoo compared to other zoos. The European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) represents around 400 institutions in Europe and West Asia. Its catchment area is home to 265 Asian elephants in 68 institutions and 180 African elephants in 40 institutions.
"We do not have comparative mortality figures for all zoos," writes the EAZA at the request of blue News. "In addition, pure mortality data can be misleading if they are not interpreted in the context of the number of elephants kept, the birth rate, the age structure of the group and the causes of death."
"Elephants don't belong in zoos," says Monica Biondo, Head of Research and Conservation at the Fondation Franz Weber. "It is impossible to provide them with a species-appropriate living environment."
The animals live in too small a space, under extremely restrictive conditions that do not correspond to their nature, and in unnatural group compositions. "It's obvious that problems arise under such circumstances," says Biondo.
«We humans only protect what we know.»
Severin Dressen
Director of Zurich Zoo
"We disagree, of course the animals can be kept well," replies zoo director Dressen. "It's true that elephants used to be kept in unnatural groups. Today, however, they are kept in family groups of females with their young, who are kept in protected contact."
Protected contact means that the keepers are always separated from the elephants by a barrier. "The animals therefore live in their natural social structure, the so-called matriarchy."
The 40-year-old elephant cow Indi and her cub after giving birth.
Picture: Zoo Zürich
The EAZA also defends Zurich Zoo: "The zoo is characterized by very high standards in elephant husbandry, which is reflected in the high birth rate in recent years. Since the opening of the new elephant enclosure in 2014, eight elephants have been born in Zurich, and four of the births were successful, according to the zoo. However, none of the animals born at Zurich Zoo are still alive today.
The Asian elephant is listed as critically endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species. There are only around 50,000 animals left in the wild worldwide - and their population continues to decline.
In its press release, Zurich Zoo emphasizes how important the breeding programme is for the conservation of the species: "Maintaining a stable reserve population in zoos plays an important role."
Monica Biondo from the Fondation Franz Weber disagrees with this argument. "No elephant born in a zoo has ever been released into the wild," she says, "nor would it be possible." In the wild, the animals live in large, matriarchal family groups in which an elephant born in captivity would not be able to fit in.
"The breeding program is not a conservation strategy, but justifies keeping animals in the zoo. Young animals attract more visitors because of the 'yo-yo' effect," says Biondo.
A modern zoo can contribute to species conservation on several levels, says zoo director Severin Dressen in response to the accusations. Research is carried out on the elephants living in the zoo, which benefits the elephants living in the wild.
The elephants at the zoo act as ambassadors for their free-living conspecifics. "Our elephants inspire the people who visit them at the zoo. And we humans only protect what we know. "
Zurich Zoo has also been involved in a conservation reserve in Thailand for 15 years. "Our commitment is long-term and also involves the local population," says Dressen. "In this way, we are not only protecting one of the last important refuges for the Asian elephant, but also preserving a habitat for many other endangered species."
It is a fallacy that reserve populations mean that elephants must now be released into the wild. "The reserve population is for the worst-case scenario, when there are hardly any elephants left in the wild. Fortunately, this is not the case at the moment," says Dressen. "But we can't just start breeding when it's too late." Zurich Zoo would therefore like to continue breeding elephants.
If it makes sense to reintroduce elephants from the reserve populations in the future, it would take three generations to reintroduce a group, says Dressen. Instead of integrating individual animals into existing wild groups, entire groups would be released into the wild.
The animal rights activists do not believe that zoos are needed to protect elephants. It is much more important to protect the elephants' natural habitat. They are calling for the breeding program for elephants to be stopped and the remaining animals to be brought to a protected area where they can live semi-wild.
"They can't survive completely in the wild," says Biondo. "But this would allow them to roam as freely and naturally as possible."
