2010
February 12, 2010 - Zoo officials announce Kallie and Bette are too unhealthy to be bred. Click here for more information.
2009
December 2009 - Zoo officials publicly confirm definite plans to breed Kallie and Bette in 2010. Link here. Sadly, it's likely that either one or both will join the grim statistics of elephants who died recently after breeding - partial list here.
July 7, 2009
Kallie and Bette are trucked to the Pittsburgh breeding facility during a late-night transfer.
May 8, 2009
Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants testifies at the budget hearings for Philadelphia City Council regarding the waste of taxpayer money in funding the zoo. To read the testimony, click here.
May 7, 2009
Dame Daphne Sheldrick, world-renowned conservationist featured three times on the CBS news program "Sixty Minutes," submits an affidavit opposing the transfer of Kallie and Bette to the Pittsburgh breeding-holding facility. To read a copy of the affidavit, click here.
February 25, 2009
Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants files a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General about the Philadelphia Zoo's misleading public statements about the elephants. Read more here.
2008
December 17, 2008
It is reported that Jackson, a bull elephant who has already sired at least seven calves in captivity (as such, he is over-represented in the gene pool), moved to the breeding facility and the Phase I barn (10,000 sq. ft) is complete.
Early December 2008
Kallie and Bette remained confined in the same quarter-acre facility. The breeding facility remains under construction. Questions to the directors of the Pittsburgh Zoo and the Philadelphia Zoo about the status of the breeding facility go unanswered.
October 22, 2008
FPZE sends a letter to Pittsburgh Zoo president Barbara Baker to enquire about plans for Jackson, the bull elephant to be housed at the breeding facility and the size of the elephant exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo (copy here). Baker does not respond.
June 9, 2008
Petal collapses in her stall in the cement barn at 4 am. No one is monitoring her. When the keepers arrive for work at 7 am, she is still down. She dies two hours later. In response to questions about Petal and concerns about the surviving two elephants, Vik Dewan sends a form letter response (click here for an example).
April 29, 2008
FPZE sends a letter (see copy here) and copies of petitions containing over 500 signatures to Philly Zoo Director Vik Dewan and South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Neither party responds to the letter. Vik Dewan sends a form letter to everyone who signed the petition (click here for form letter).
2007
October 2007
The Pittsburgh Zoo breaks ground at the breeding facility.
July 2007
FPZE tours the location of the proposed breeding facility with Pittsburgh Zoo director Barbara Baker and Head Curator of Mammals Amos Morris.
May 1, 2007
Dulary moves into her new forever home, The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennesse.
April 2007
The Philadelphia Zoo announces that the African elephants will be moved to a breeding facility near Pittsburgh in the upcoming fall (2007).
March 2007
The Philadelphia Zoo announces that the Maryland Zoo will not accept Kallie, Bette and Petal because of lack of funding to expand their elephant exhibit. FPZE contacts the PAWS sanctuary in California, who graciously offers to accept all three African elephants at no charge. The Philadelphia Zoo claims it is looking only at other zoos for Kallie, Bette and Petal and expects to determine the new exhibit in a month or two.
February 2007
FPZE purchases over $100.00 worth of watermelons as Valentines Day treats for the elephants.
January 2007
FPZE purchases two toys from Otto Environmental to help the elephants make it through was what supposed to be their last winter in the Philly cement barn.
2006
December 2006
FPZE purchases produce for the elephants as holiday treats, including watermelon, grapes, broccoli, oranges, and apples.
October 5, 2006
The Philadelphia Zoo announces that Dulary will be moved to The Elephant Sanctuary and Petal, Kallie and Bette will be moved to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
FPZE visits the Maryland Zoo that weekend to observe the elephant exhibit there. FPZE returns in November to meet with the elephant keepers to discuss the plans for Petal, Kallie and Bette.
July 2006
FPZE contacts the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) about the conditions of the elephants and the rhino. Erik Hendricks, PSPCA Director, first sends a form letter response, and then promises to send an agent out to check on the specific conditions of the rhino. Despite repeated follow-up attempts, no further information is provided by the PSPCA. Please click here to read the email exchange with Mr. Hendricks.
June 8, 2006
FPZE attends Philadelphia City Council meeting to deliver petitions with over 5,000 signatures in support of sending Philly Zoo elephants to a sanctuary.
Mid-April 2006
The Zoo announces Dulary will be moved, but does not disclose when or where.
March 29, 2006
On FPZE's behalf, a Washington DC law firm sends Philadelphia Zoo legal notice of violation of the Endangered Species Act based on the Zoo's harmful treatment of Dulary. Please click here to read the notice letter.
March 2006
The Zoo continues to claim publicly that it has not made any decisions regarding the elephants - "all options are on the table," including keeping the elephants in the same quarter-acre enclosure. In a document dated March 17, 2006, AZA representative Mark Green states the Philadelphia Zoo has already decided to move its elephants to another facility. FPZE publicly releases the AZA statement in early April.
February 2, 2006
Concerned about Dulary's deteriorating condition, FPZE files a request for investigation with the USDA. The USDA sends a form letter response.
January 24, 2006
For the first time since November, FPZE observes Dulary outside - alone, very thin and depressed.
2005
December 15, 2005
Because the Philadelphia Zoo receives major financial support from the City of Philadelphia in fhe form of free rent, free water and trash services, and millions of dollars in capital contributions, FPZE decides to ask city officials to help the elephants. On this date, FPZE members, including an elephant in costume, attend the Philadelphia City Council meeting to solicit the Councilmembers' help with Dulary and the other Zoo elephants. At the meeting, councilmembers James Kenney and Blondell Reynolds Brown, among others, express interest in the elephants' plight. In the coming weeks, FPZE meets with most of the councilmembers or their aides to discuss the elephants' dire situation. (Note: The Philadelphia Zoo also receives millions of dollars of support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. FPZE also contacted Governor Rendell, whose office very disappointingly refused to meet with FPZE. Eastern Region Director Joseph Certaine refuses to even discuss the issue. Some FPZE members do meet with their state senators, including Edwin Erickson, who at least take the time to listen to their constituents' concerns.)
November 20, 2005
FPZE visits the Zoo near closing time and see Dulary outside for the first time since summer. A sign near the Elephant exhibit states "Our Asian elephant is inside recuperating from minor surgery. When she is fully recovered, she will be back outside."
October 28, 2005
The Board of Directors of the Zoo announces that plans to expand the elephant exhibit are indefinitely postponed.
October 2005
The Elephant Sanctuary offers to accept Dulary at no charge to the Zoo.
Mid- October 2005
The Philadelphia Zoo publicly announces Dulary's injury. Despite requests from the media and local citizens, no third party is allowed to see Dulary.
Early October 2005
FPZE places "Missing" newspaper ads offering a $500 reward for information about Dulary and plaster posters around the city announcing the reward offer.
September 27, 2005
FPZE files a complaint with the USDA and request an investigation of Dulary's injury. The USDA sends a form letter response.
September 2005
Concerned citizens notice Dulary is regularly missing from the exhibit. The Zoo provides various, conflicting reasons for her absence. The concerned citizens organize to help the elephants and form the group "Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants" (FPZE)/
August 30, 2005
Dulary is injured by Bette and secluded in the barn. The Zoo does not announce Dulary's injury.
July 2005
Activists purchase two tires for the elephants. Although the tires accepted by Kim Lengel, Senior Curator of Mammals, as toys for the elephants, the tires are never seen in the exhibit. The same tires are used daily by elephants at sanctuaries.
April 2005
After learning the Philadelphia Zoo plans to expand its elephant exhibit to 2.5 acres to house seven or more elephants at a projected cost of $22 million, concerned local citizens gather at the zoo to educate the public on the needs of elephants and why the Philadelphia Zoo's planned expansion would be outdated before it was even build.
Philadelphia Zoo employees Kim Lengel (assistant curator) and Gretchen Toner (public relations) accompany several concerned citizens through the elephant exhibit. Among other things, Ms. Lengel and Ms. Toner claim that rubber flooring will be installed on the cement floor within a few months. (Note: Months later, after repeated requests for updates on the progress of the rubber flooring, Philadelphia Zoo officials claim an "expert" examined the elephants and told the zoo that rubber flooring was not necessary. A copy of the "expert" report as requested, but Philadelphia Zoo officials refuses to share it. The concerned citizens also request copies of the elephants' medical records, which the Philadelphia Zoo refuses to supply as well.)
