Background:

The Valley Zoo has two elephants, an Asian elephant, Lucy and an African elephant, Samantha. Their elephant house has concrete floors; their outdoor enclosure, with a sand substrate, measures approximately one-quarter acre only.

In the wild, elephants live in family groups or herds of 6 to 20 females. They are usually led by the oldest or most experienced female in the herd, the matriarch. The other members consist of the matriarch’s family members, her offspring, and sometimes her sisters and their offspring. Asian and African elephants would never live together in the wild.

Lucy's Story

Born in Sri Lanka around 1975, Lucy was "found as an orphan". According to the Asian elephant studbook, Lucy, aka Skanik, was at the Colombo zoo until she was transferred to the Valley Zoo in 1976. Then she was shuffled back and forth from Edmonton to Calgary until 1988.

Lucy has arthritis and chronic foot infections, both caused by lack of exercise, the cold winters, and the hard substrate of her living quarters. Arthritis and foot infections lead to the premature deaths of captive elephants. Elephants in the wild are not subject to either of these afflictions.

Samantha's Story

On June 11, 2007, Samantha was moved to the North Carolina Zoo on a breeding loan. Plans are for her to stay there for at least 5 years. While we would have preferred to see Samantha go to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, the North Caroline Zoo is a big improvement over the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Although her new enclosure is seven acres, this is a far cry from the 2,700 acres of forest, grassland, lakes and streams at the Elephant Sanctuary. Samantha will have four female companions as well as two males at the North Carolina Zoo.

Our Approach:

V4A has mounted a campaign to have Lucy and Samantha retired to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. We are currently raising public awareness about the plight of these elephants and building support for their eventual move.

We have opened a dialogs with Valley Zoo management, who are reluctant to see these zoo icons leave. V4A is preparing a presentation to the Community Services Committee of City Council.

Read the Zoocheck report by Winnie Kiiru.

Voice your support:

We encourage everyone who is concerned about the welfare of Lucy and Samantha to voice their support for their retirement to the mayor, city council, and the Valley Zoo Development Society.

Mail a letter wherever possible but a fax or email will work in a pinch.

• Contact the Mayor & City Councillors
• Contact the Zoo Society
• Write to the media

Contact the Mayor & City Council - Please take this opportunity to send separate letters or faxes of support to the Edmonton Mayor and City Council members.

Mayor Stephen Mandel
2nd Floor, City Hall 1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB T5J 2R7
Phone: (780) 496-8100 Fax: (780) 496-8292
E-mail: Online comment form

Office of the Councillors
2nd Floor, City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB T5J 2R7
Phone: (780) 496- 8110 Fax: (780) 496-8113
E-mail: City Councillors (Entire Group)

Contact the Valley Zoo Development Society - Write, email, or call the Valley Zoo Development Society to ask for Lucy and Samantha's release to The Elephant Sanctuary

Valley Zoo Development Society
Norman Grimes, President
Box 2359
Edmonton, AB T5J 2R7
Phone: 780 496-6924 Fax: 780 944-7529
E-mail: vzds@telusplanet.net

Write to the media
And don't forget to voice your support in print.

Edmonton Journal - Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 2421
Edmonton, AB T5J 2S6
Fax: 780-498-5677
E-mail: letters@thejournal.canwest.com
Online: www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/letters.html

Edmonton Sun - Letters to the Editor
250-4990 92 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB
T6B 2V4
Fax: 780-468-0139
E-mail: mailbag@edmsun.com

Calgary Herald - Letters to the Editor
PO Box 2400, Stn. M
Calgary, AB T2P 0W8
Fax: 403-235-7379
E-mail: letters@theherald.canwest.com
Online: www.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html

Calgary Sun - Letters to the Editor
2615 12 Street NE
Calgary, AB T2E 7W9
Fax: 403-250-4180
E-mail: callet@calgarysun.com

Want to write a letter? Here is an example.