I finally made it to the Toyota Elephant Passage at the Denver Zoo!! I absolutely love, Love, LOVE elephants!! I am cRaZy about them!!
I had not planned to return to the zoo, because it broke my heart to see the elephants in a small space. When I heard about their new bard and yards, I had to go see!
I live with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and Late-Chronic Lyme Disease, so every day I feel like I have a horrible case of flu and can barely get out of bed, get my food or take a shower. So, as you can imagine, getting to the zoo is quite an endeavor.
What’s more, we had to wait for a day that wasn’t too hot and not very busy, due to my chemical intolerances. Thankfully, I only ran across a couple of situations and was able to speed away on my scooter!
I don’t like seeing animals confined and I would love for all the zoos to be closed and only have reserves for those animals who need to live out there lives, endangered species or injured animals.
But for these particular elephants who are having to live in a zoo, I am happy to see that they have built this new space for them! There are three yards with pools and the barn for four elephants.
Twice a day, they have a show in the amphitheater. However, none of the animals are forced to come into the yard nor are the forced to do tricks. They are “asked” to do the tricks and rewarded whether they do them or not and they do not have to do anything if they don’t want to. That is a great improvement!
On the day we were there, Groucho came into the theater and was happy to jump in for a swim, some treats and applause. He even took his time leaving, but was free to go when he pleased.
I wish I could free Groucho and all the animals from all the zoos and circuses! Still, I am thankful they are getting much better treatment and have a nicer place to live. I am hoping this is the beginning a wake up call for all zoos to provide much better surroundings for all animals!
Personally, I financially support the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and have told many people about them over the years. I have linked to their website, videos and even posted Shirley’s birthday on my page. They are a fabulous reserve where the elephants roam free during the day on 250 acres and come into a large barn at night.
I encourage everyone to support various reserves, especially those like the Elephant Sanctuary, so that more work can be done to help give formerly abused and captured animals the retirement they deserve, as well as help populate endangered species and mend those who have been injured.
