Videos/Photos

CURRENT videos can be found on our YouTube channel or our Facebook page. They show a hideous situation for both elephants, with Ruth taking the brunt of the abuse. Brought in as a companion to Emily, she has always been treated poorly.

But in the past five years it got much worse for her. She has been ordered to stand in one spot for hours at a time--despite heat, thirst, or hunger; and not allowed to move, even to dust. She was prevented from swaying, which some zoos call a form of self comforting.

How do you show a non-elephant-minded person that an elephant is being controlled by keepers?

First, they have to see the elephant's normal behavior. Here's Ruth enjoying an unexpected cloudburst, splashing mud on herself.

In the second part of the video, Ruth & Emily are both on the outer yard and Emily runs in to the inner yard. Ruth abruptly turns, and hesitantly stands waiting for something. She gets a signal (Move up most likely) and stands under the shelter watching Emily have fun in the pool.

Ruth was released to move freely after we left the zoo.
That's what zoos are all about.

The video above is a virtual tour of the exhibit from 2021, and a prime  reason why Ruth & Emily should be removed from the BPZoo.

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Sadly, it hasn't changed in any substantial way since 1986. Except, perhaps, to get worse now that Ruth & Emily have no ability to get out of the tiny lot. During "free contact management," Ruth & Emily were able to walk around the zoo and occasionally to go into the brook in good weather. It's likely that is why they now ram the gate and try to unlock it.

In 2017, the City spent $600,000 on changes to the barn. In order to eliminate the bullhook, and to switch to "restricted" contact, the City retrofitted the 32-year-old barn with steel bars--but now the stalls are just 20 feet by 40 feet. For an animal that is 10 feet long, that means they can barely turn around. And Ruth & Emily spend 16 hours a day, every day, in the barn. For Ruth it is especially difficult to navigate the tiny doorway when she is lame on two legs. Further, the City's equipment is not able to adequately remove all of the waste-contaminated soil from the stalls.