  Mikie Member Username: Mikie Post Number: 154 Registered: 06-2006 |
Winky the Elephant from the Detroit zoo has passed away today. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/M ETRO/804070426 | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 7519 Registered: 11-2004 |
It's sad. I saw that and was at least somewhat glad to hear that she at least spent the last few years of her life wandering about somewhat free in a much larger enclosure. | ||
Crystal Member Username: Crystal Post Number: 152 Registered: 05-2007 |
I was thinking exactly the same thing. | ||
Detroitnative Member Username: Detroitnative Post Number: 5 Registered: 04-2008 |
Do they still have the tiger that was rescued from a crack house? How does that even happen? | ||
Ongowwah Member Username: Ongowwah Post Number: 45 Registered: 03-2008 |
I don't think she wandered too much, wasn't Winky the one that had issues and wouldn't leave the barn too often. Those elephants should have stayed at the zoo. I'm sure the long trip out there was not the best thing for them....talk about small enclosures. How much room did they have to roam in those trailers? RIP Winky. timba mahawani sleep | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 7523 Registered: 11-2004 |
From what I remember about their trip across the country to the sanctuary, both elephants were also given plenty of time to get out from time to time and stretch their legs. So while it might have been a slight inconvenience to be cooped up in a trailer for the drive, isn't it better than every day being housed in a concrete enclosure without much room to really wander?? Measure the time spent in that trailer to the time she had an opportunity to walk around freely (three years?). i'd say it was worth it for Winky's sake. | ||
Jenniferl Member Username: Jenniferl Post Number: 433 Registered: 03-2004 |
When my niece was a baby, we used to take her to the zoo almost every week. We always spent a lot of time with the elephants. Winky would respond to you if you called her name. She was a real sweetheart! | ||
Faygoredpop Member Username: Faygoredpop Post Number: 7 Registered: 03-2008 |
I went to pawsweb.org site, the website for where Wanda and Winky are at. I found this information about them from last year.... Summer 2007 - Wanda and Winky Grazing at ARK 2000 On the second anniversary of their trip to ARK 2000, Winky & Wanda are indulging their favorite spring pastime, grazing on the tender grass that follows the California rainy Season. Wanda is always impatient after her foot soaks, anxious to climb her favorite hill and graze her way back, while Winky hangs around the barn until all the treats have disappeared, then heads out to the tall grass for some very serious grazing. Recently, the two have dominated the images on our web cam since Minnie, Rebecca and Annie usually move into the trees and nap in the middle of the day. Wanda, the consummate “social butterfly”, wanders around munching with Annie or gossiping with Rebecca and Minnie, but Winky prefers solitary snacking always staying in close proximity to Wanda. After two years at ARK 2000, the two Detroit ladies have developed their own routines and have successfully “trained” their keepers to provide treats and activities whenever necessary, but spring is their favorite time. Wanda chirps and barks at the end of the day, telling all her friends about her adventures, and Winky silently stands beside her pulling up the last morsels of grass before entering the barn for a good dust bath. So Ongowwah, see Winky did wander out, but she just wanted to stay by Wanda's side. Wanda was the one who just goes out first. I think it would have been a lot harder on Winky if Wanda had passed first, but I do know that Wanda will more than likely miss her friend. | ||
Crystal Member Username: Crystal Post Number: 153 Registered: 05-2007 |
I wholeheartedly support the elephants' relocation to PAWS. Nonetheless, I'm sure the trip from Detroit to PAWS was an arduous, calculated risk. If I remember correctly, there were stops at zoos along the way. There, the elephants could get out of the truck and walk around, and the trailer could be hosed out. When deciding which sanctuary would be best for Wanda and Winky, I believe an argument was made for a sanctuary in Tennessee because it was closer than PAWS. The PAWS web cam was donated by someone who enjoyed the Detroit Zoo elephants, and wanted to continue to see them. | ||
Ongowwah Member Username: Ongowwah Post Number: 49 Registered: 03-2008 |
Imagine, surviving 56 years of torture at the Detroit Zoo, it must have been unbearable for one of the oldest elephants in the country. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 7528 Registered: 11-2004 |
Easy now... to equate cramped conditions to torture are two separate worlds here now. You're making a heckuva stretch with that analogy. By implying torture you're saying that she was treated not just inhumanely but by definition, Winky was subjected to... 1. the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty. 2. a method of inflicting such pain. 3. Often, tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone. 4. extreme anguish of body or mind; agony. 5. a cause of severe pain or anguish. Unless you know of something that we and the rest of the people that saw Winky at the Zoo on a regular basis, that claim is WAY off base. | ||
Ongowwah Member Username: Ongowwah Post Number: 53 Registered: 03-2008 |
Smoggy, See my Shrine Circus post! | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 7534 Registered: 11-2004 |
Sarcasm doesn't always translate to threads easily, Ongowwah. |
