Every year, the group In Defense of Animals releases its list of North America’s 10 worst zoos for elephants.
However, this year the group added that “For the first time in 20 years, we are honoring a zoo for its progressive treatment of elephants. Oakland Zoo is setting a bold and compassionate precedent by releasing its last elephant, Osh, to sanctuary. We applaud its courageous and compassionate decision and urge other zoos to follow Oakland’s example.”
The Oakland Zoo has also become the go-to solution for the police and the forest service whenever they rescue wild animals in trouble, often from abuse by so-called human beings. On Dec. 30 Madera County police pulled over a speeding Rolls Royce for a DUI and discovered a young female spider monkey in the back seat. Owning or selling wild animals is illegal in California, and with good reason: The poor little thing was badly malnourished and suffering a serious respiratory infection.
So they rushed her to the only place with the special expertise necessary to care for her: the Oakland Zoo. She’s still underweight from the malnourishment she suffered, but her respiratory problem is much better, and she’s now eating with gusto thanks to a healthy diet recommended by the zoo’s nutritionist.
She’s also been given a name: Azules, after the Montes Azules Biosphere Preserve in Chiapas, Mexico, the heart of the rainforest that spider monkeys call home. While she recovers, the zoo is working with the California Fish and Wildlife Department to find her a permanent home with others of her species. Spider monkeys are extremely social creatures, and they do much better when they’re part of a “troop” of other spider monkeys.
On Jan. 26, three more animals were brought to the zoo: orphaned mountain lion cubs found huddling in abject terror beneath a parked car three-quarters of a mile from where their mother’s body was discovered after being killed by a motor vehicle. The cubs, a female that zoo staff named Fern and two males, Thistle and Spruce, are recovering at the zoo’s veterinary hospital.
“When naming animals at the zoo, especially the rescues we receive, we pay homage to either the environment the species comes from naturally, the location where they were found or the history of the species,” says Isabella Linares, the zoo’s marketing manager. “For Fern, Thistle and Spruce, we chose plants that they encounter in the wild.
“Fern had to undergo an anesthetic procedure this week. She appeared lethargic and had lost muscle mass. Veterinary hospital staff report that she is still thin and has some dietary problems, but they didn’t find any additional problems. We still have some diagnostics pending to help target the source of her lethargy, but we should know more soon.”
Other wild animals have benefited too. To date, the zoo has released more than 900 frogs from three different species into the wild and has delivered more than 1,600 vaccines since 2020 to help protect rabbits from rabbit hemorrhagic disease, which is just as awful as it sounds.
“The larger question is, ‘What is the purpose of a zoo?’” says Nik Dehejia, the zoo’s executive director who — along with his predecessor, Dr. Joel Parrott — has made the zoo a permanent part of the solution. “For instance, 27 mountain lions have been killed in the last five years, some from wildfires like the ones that ravaged us here in Northern California in 2020. In other cases, like this one, mothers are being killed by vehicle traffic, and their cubs need to be rescued.
“We’ve been a rescue organization for many years, but in recent years we have been sharing more of our stories because that allows us to talk about the challenges wildlife face and how we can coexist with these incredible species. We can save and protect individual animals, but if we can’t educate and inspire people, we can’t get to where we have to go.”
Finally, how is Osh doing in his new home?
“Extremely well,” he said. “He’s gradually being integrated with the other elephants over a fence and shares a barn with another elephant, Artie. In the spring he’ll have 150 acres to connect with them. He’s doing everything he should be doing, and that’s what brings us joy.”
These have been hard times for Oakland lately, what with crime, layoffs, budget crises, recall elections, the A’s deserting us for Vegas and the mayor indicted for corruption. Isn’t it nice to know that something around here actually works?
Martin Snapp can be reached at catman442@comcast.net.