Elephants never forget...being caged

As scientific knowledge progresses a huge challenge is to integrate that new knowledge into practice. This problem can be found in many areas of human endeavor  One giant area where our knowledge has exceeded what we practice is in how we treat elephants in zoos. Having worked with elephants for over thirty years in zoos, Les Schobert felt the need to write an article in October 16th, 2005 edition of The Washington Post arguing for a more humane approach to the way zoos care for their pachyderms.
 He describes how in the last thirty five years our knowledge of what elephants need to be healthy has grown immensely, while our practical treatment of them in zoos has remained mostly unchanged. The biggest problem cited by Schobert is the lack of living space and natural terrain found in most zoo elephant habitats. Scientists now agree that elephants in the wild typically have a home range of a thousand square mile, while the minimum habitat allowed by the zoo industry is as little as 2,200 square feet. Some zoos have worked to create larger habitats, and other zoos have sent their elephants to game reserves in California and Tennessee where they can have the space they need. Schobert was dismayed at the treatment of the elephants at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Lacking room to move around has caused one elephant at the National Zoo, Toni, to suffer arthritis so bad she may have to be euthanized decades before she would have died in the wild. Schobert’s main argument is that zoos need to reevaluate their elephant programs to create healthy environments so that their animals can live healthy lives. Les Schobert spent his entire life working to care for animals and especially elephants. He was nationally recognized for his efforts to promote the humane treatment of animals in zoo's across the country. 

As a society we see the importance of maintaining the health and well being of many elements in our society. As civilization progresses new knowledge needs to be applied to the different facets of life on our planet. Zoo's are an institution that has evolved from the the earliest housing of elephants in a zoo in ancient Egypt 5200 years ago to the Romans use of elephants in bloody arena battles. Today's modern zoo's evolved from collections of animals housed in imperial zoological gardens of the 19th century. These zoo's usually caged animals to economically display animals from the far reaches of the world. 

But the world of that day didn't really have a problem caging people in tiny cages. Today zoo's are learning from that past. As societies progress conditions are seen different. It took us a long time to learn that elephants don't like being forced to fight other animals to the death. And it has taken us a lot longer to learn that they would rather roam free on hundreds or thousands of acres than be chained and caged in the middle of a metropolis. Les Schobert was influential in his work to push for more progressive treatment of elephants. Due in part to his work the National Zoo has started the Elephant Trails program, a program to improve life for elephants in the zoo as well as in the wild. Elephant Trails as well as many other programs around the world are working to ensure the health and well being of all elephants. Which is very good news for elephants