Maggie's Story

In 1983, after her family was killed when elephant herds were culled in southern Africa, one-year-old Maggie was bought by the Alaska Zoo. She shared her quarters with Annabelle, the zoo's lone Asian elephant. In 1997, Annabelle died from a foot infection, and since that time, Maggie lived alone.   During the summer, Maggie's world was a small, outdoor pen of hard, compacted dirt and a shallow pond. During Alaska's long winter, Maggie stood on an unheated concrete floor inside a 148-square metre barn. She was overweight, sluggish, and had problems with dry skin. Several years later after Annabelle's death, the zoo constructed a massive treadmill for Maggie to walk on. She never used it. In May 2007, Maggie was found lying on her left side and couldn't get up. This is a dangerous position for an elephant. All that weight pushing down cuts off blood flow, impairs breathing, and damages organs and muscles. It took zookeepers, firefighters, and a towing company 19 hours to get Maggie on her feet again.   The zoo put Maggie on an hourly watch, but two days later she went down again for six hours. The zoo closed her exhibit and kept a keeper with her around the clock. Meanwhile, a group of Anchorage citizens called Friends of Maggie stepped up their campagin to convince the zoo to move Maggie to a place with a warm climate, lots of space, and other elephants for companionship. The group met with zoo officials, organized Save Maggie rallies, and wrote to government officials. In November 2007, they were successful and Maggie was finally sent to a sanctuary in California. She is now doing very well.    Below is a table which compares Maggie's life to Lucy's life. Maggie - Alaska Zoo  Lucy - Edmonton Valley Zoo Maggie was captured from the wild in southern Africa when she was an infant. Lucy was captured from the wild in Sri Lanka when she was an infant. Maggie was shipped to the Alaska Zoo where she was the star attraction for more than two decades. Lucy was shipped to the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Official zoo documents describe Lucy as the “zoo icon” and“célèbre for fundraising.” Maggie had an elephant companion named Annabelle for 15 years while living at the zoo. Lucy had an elephant companion named Samantha for 18 years while living at the zoo. Maggie was left alone at the zoo after Annabelle died in 1997 as a result of chronic foot infections. Lucy has been alone at the zoo since Samantha was sent to a US zoo on a long-term breeding loan. Maggie was locked inside a small cement-floored barn when the zoo was closed and during cold and inclement weather. Lucy is locked inside a small cement-floored barn when the zoo is closed and during cold and inclement weather. The zoo claimed that Maggie’s walks around the zoo grounds were adequate exercise for her. They later built a exercise treadmill in herbarn for the days she could not be outside but Maggie never used it. The zoo claims that Lucy’s walks around around the zoo grounds are adequate exercise for her. Lucy suffers from chronic foot infections, arthritis and ongoing respiratory problems. The Alaska Zoo claimed Maggie could not be moved to a sanctuary because she was not social with Annabelle and therefore would not do well with other elephants. They insisted that she was happy in the company of her keepers at the zoo. The Valley Zoo claims Lucy cannot be moved to a sanctuary because she was not social with Samantha (zoo records contradict that claim). Zoo officials insist that Lucy is happy in the company of her keepers at the zoo. The Alaska Zoo claimed that it would be risky to Maggie’s health tomove her to a sanctuary. The Valley Zoo claims that it is too risky to Lucy’s heath to move her to a sanctuary. Maggie went down due to colic and could not get up again. The Alaska Zoo had to bring in heavy equipment to get her back on her feet, only to find she was unable to get up again a few days later. Lucy’s medical records show that she was in the early stages of colic in the summer of 2008 and over the years has had difficulty getting up and on some days will barely eat or drink. After significant public pressure to move Maggie to a better facility, the Alaska Zoo agreed to move her to the PAWS sanctuary in California. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and the PAWS sanctuary in California have both offered to give Lucy a permanent home. Like all of the other elephants that have been labeled as anti-social by their old owners, Maggie began to socialize normally after arriving at the sanctuary. Valley Zoo officials continue to claim it is too risky to move Lucy to a sanctuary because she may be stressed by being with other elephants and it may make her breathing problem worse. Maggie’s health has improved since she has been living at the PAWS sanctuary.  TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR  LUCY!