Update: February 2006

Chicago City Council Considers Pending Elephant Protection Ordinance

Update: May 20, 2005

Prosecutors Launch Investigation of Lincoln Park Zoo

The Cook County state’s attorney’s office launched an investigation into the Lincoln Park Zoo to determine any criminal negligence following a string of animal deaths. Recent known deaths include three langur monkeys, two gorillas, a camel, and elephants Peaches, Wankie, and Tatima.

In addition, the zoo admitted that it had amputated the arm of a young gibbon, a small ape native to Southeast Asia, after he reportedly injured his arm reaching through an exhibit fence and that a newborn marmoset had drowned.

Update: May 13, 2005

More Careless Animal Deaths at Lincoln Park Zoo: Three Monkeys Are the Latest Casualties

Three Francois langurs have died at Lincoln Park Zoo, the latest in a string of deaths that includes beloved elephants Tatima, Peaches, and Wankie, at least two gorillas, and a camel.

Whistleblowers tell PETA of other mysterious animal deaths that the zoo has kept quiet, including a newborn marmoset who allegedly drowned when an inexperienced keeper failed to drain a pool to ensure the safety of the animals.

Evidence suggests that negligence on the part of zoo staff, as well as poor management, has contributed to the deaths of several animals at the zoo. The zoo has a responsibility, as well as a legal obligation, to provide its animals with humane living conditions, adequate veterinary care, appropriate shelter from inclement weather, and an environment free of hazards. The zoo has repeatedly failed to provide these fundamental necessities to its animals.

Ask the Cook County state's attorney to launch an investigation and pursue charges against the zoo.

Update: May 1, 2005

Wankie Dies After Collapsing en Route to Hogle Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo's last surviving elephant, Wankie, was destroyed on May 1 after arriving at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. Wankie reportedly collapsed in Nebraska during transport from Chicago. The zoo moved her before waiting to hear the verdict of the upcoming May 12 Chicago City Council's Parks & Recreation Committee hearing. Council members were set to vote on a well-supported resolution calling for Wankie to go to a sanctuary and for the zoo to permanently close its elephant exhibit. PETA suspects that a rushed exit strategy did not allow for adjustment to the travel crate. A stressed Wankie may have been tranquilized for the 1,400-mile journey, which could have contributed to her collapse and breathing problems about halfway through the trip. When elephants go down, they must be helped upright within an hour or two or their weight crushes their internal organs. In this case, a decision was made to keep on driving with Wankie down.

PETA is calling on zoo director Kevin Bell to resign and to publicly release Wankie's medical records and necropsy reports (something he has refused to do for her two late companions, Peaches and Tatima) and on the USDA to investigate and pursue charges against the zoo for failure to provide adequate care in transit if negligence played a role in her death.

Learn how you can help hold Lincoln Park Zoo accountable.

April 2005

Update: April 2005

The Lincoln Park Zoo plans to shuffle Wankie off to more of the same problems at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City in a matter of weeks and to eventually bring in more elephants. The Hogle Zoo has a disturbing record of animal care and, like all zoos, lacks sufficient space for elephants. The Hogle Zoo has a long history of failing to meet the minimal standards established in the federal Animal Welfare Act, among other problems. The Hogle Zoo paid a $25,000 fine to settle charges alleging repeated and willful violations of the AWA. Numerous animals have escaped, and several have died from unsafe conditions, including two chimpanzees who were shot after they escaped and mauled a keeper. Elephants at the Hogle Zoo have died from arthritis, twisted intestines, suspected vitamin deficiency, and other conditions. Following a recent audit, the zoo was accused by the Utah Legislature of selling bighorn sheep to a game ranch for trophy hunting.

More than half of the 37 elephants who died at AZA-accredited facilities since 2000 never reached their 40th birthday, dying far short of their 70-year life expectancy. At age 35, Wankie still has a chance to live a full and enriching life at a sanctuary.

Read about the Hogle Zoo’s disturbing record of animal care.

Learn how you can help send Wankie to a sanctuary.

March 2005

Update: March 2005

On March 9, the Chicago City Council referred a resolution proposed by PETA to the Committee on Parks and Recreation, recommending that Wankie, the surviving elephant, be retired to a sanctuary immediately, rather than shipped to another zoo, and that the Lincoln Park Zoo permanently close its elephant exhibit.

The resolution was referred for consideration two months after the premature death of a second elephant at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Read the resolution.

Learn about the Lincoln Park Zoo’s disturbing 115-year history with elephants.

Learn how you can help send Wankie to a sanctuary.

January 2005

Update: January 2005

Tragically, a second female African elephant has died at the Lincoln Park Zoo. On Monday, January 17, 2005, the zoo euthanized 55-year-old Peaches, just three short months after the death of Tatima. Peaches' death means that Wankie is now left to suffer in solitary confinement, bereft of the only companions she has ever known.

There is no doubt that Wankie is grieving and confused by her relocation to an environment so hostile that it has claimed her only two friends, and if not relocated to a sanctuary soon, she could face the same deadly fate. At 35, Wankie still has a chance to live a full and enriching life, roaming freely on hundreds of acres in the company of other African elephants, at either The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or the Performing Animal Welfare Society in California, where she could make new friends to fill the void left by the deaths of Tatima and Peaches.

On January 21, 2005, protesters held a wake at the zoo for Peaches, which also demonstrated the increasing public support for retiring Wankie to a sanctuary. Click here to view images of the wake.

More Updates >>