KTUU.Com
August 9, 2007
By Bianca Slota

Original Article

The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors says financial concerns and weather will likely keep Maggie the elephant in Alaska until spring. (Phil Walczak/KTUU-TV)	Zoo Board President Dick Thwaites said weather could a factor in moving Maggie and might be too much of a shock to her. (Phil Walczak/KTUU-TV)
Paul Joslin with the group Friends of Maggie said the zoo has already taken too long to make a decision. (Phil Walczak/KTUU-TV)	Some animal rights groups say keeping Maggie in Alaska for another winter will assure her death. (Phil Walczak/KTUU-TV)
Maggie had to wear a special harness for a period of time after she laid down twice and was unable to get back up. (KTUU-TV)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors says financial concerns and weather will likely keep Maggie the elephant in Alaska until spring.

The board met last night to hear recommendations from zoo staff about potential new homes for the elephant. The list of homes apparently includes a mix of five zoos, wildlife parks and animal sanctuaries.

Zoo officials won't release the names or locations of potential new homes for Maggie, but says more work needs to be done before a move can happen.

The zoo's board of directors voted to move Maggie to a new home on June 6 after she twice laid down and needed help getting back up.

Animal rights groups had hoped the African elephant would be out of the state by winter.

Zoo Board President Dick Thwaites said the zoo has received alternative recommendations to a move.

"Well, we were trying to do that but actually the people that are in the know and the ones from the other facilities are recommending that we do more training and that we do other things with Maggie," Thwaites said.

Thwaites says of the five potential new homes zoo staff has recommended, two stand out as top picks, and officials will begin coordinating with those locations to determine whether a planned move can begin.

"Cost is still a factor. Some facilities have offered to pay but they perhaps aren't the best facility for Maggie. So we're still looking at those options," Thwaites said.

Thwaites says weather is also a concern because moving Maggie to the Lower-48 now could be too much of a shock to her system.

But at least one expert disagrees.

Carol Buckley, Executive Director of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., says now would be the ideal time to move Maggie.

"You're talking about an African elephant, you're talking about an animal that migrates 50 miles every day in the wild. The changes that they experience in their environment naturally can be drastic at times," Buckley said.

Buckley says the sanctuary has repeatedly offered to take Maggie free of charge but has never gotten a reply from the Alaska Zoo.

She now questions whether the board really does intend to move the elephant, and she's not the only one.

Paul Joslin with the group Friends of Maggie said the zoo has taken too long to make a decision.

"The fact that it's getting more and more disappointing, the slow progress of their management to get on with the job says in a way that maybe it really shouldn't be in their hands anymore," Joslin said.

Some animal rights groups say keeping Maggie in Alaska for another winter will assure her death. They are now calling on the federal government to step in and take her.

U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson Jessica Milteer says the department doesn't see an immediate need to confiscate Maggie but that it is keeping a close eye on her situation, especially now that she is likely staying until spring.

"It doesn't necessarily step up the cause for action but it makes us take a more in depth review of the situation, and that's the process that we're in now," Milteer said.

The U.S.D.A. can't force the zoo to move Maggie, though, so it will be up to the board to make that happen.

Thwaites contends everyone is still committed to doing that.

Thwaites also says once the zoo reaches an agreement with a new location for Maggie, cost will still be an issue.

He says the zoo will have to hold a fundraiser to find the estimated $100,000 needed for the move.

Animals rights groups like PETA and In Defense of Animals have offered to give the zoo money to transport Maggie.

The elephant sanctuary in Tennessee says it has a deal worked out with the postal service and could move Maggie at no cost to the Alaska Zoo.

So far, though, the zoo has not taken anyone up on their offer to pay for the move.