Dec 18, 2006 6:55 pm US/Central
Brookfield Plans To Give Elephants Room To Roam
by Joanie Lum
BROOKFIELD (CBS) ―
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Zoo officials hope to build a multi-million African savannah on the north end of the zoo, making the elephant habitat six times larger.
CBS
Brookfield Zoo wants to super-size the elephant exhibit.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, plans are on the drawing board to bring in more elephants and give them room to roam.
They are the largest land animals on the planet and can attract equally large crowds. Brookfield Zoo's two female elephants, Affie and Christi, have lived in a quarter-acre enclosure for decades.
They might get to really stretch their legs someday.
Zoo officials hope to build a multi-million African savannah on the north end of the zoo, making the habitat six times larger.
"By having a rotating series of enclosures, moving around, more exercise and different things to explore as they do that," said Stuart Strahl, CEO and president of the Chicago Zoological Society.
The elephants spread their enormous ears while raising a front foot. They are not putting on a display for the children, they're being examined by their keepers, a daily exercise to maintain good health.
Animal activist groups have claimed that zoos don't have enough room for elephants to exercise and Chicago's weather is too cold for the African animals.
Last year, Lincoln Park Zoo ended its elephant program after three died -- two in captivity and one on the way to a zoo in Utah.
But Brookfield believes zoos are the primary place to learn about endangered animals.
"The groups opposed to elephants are opposed to zoos as well," Strahl said.
"We have an urbanized society that needs to see wildlife in person, which is totally different from seeing wildlife on TV," he said.
The new habitat is in the preliminary planning stages, but Brookfield Zoo has 216 acres of land to use. They hope to build the new exhibit in about five years.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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