Plan to Separate Elephant From Mother Protested

Animal rights activists are decrying efforts to bring a 2-year-old elephant to a Northern California amusement park, claiming the animal is too young to be taken from its mother.

Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo sent a crew to pick up Kala, an 1,800-pound Asian elephant, from the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo. The young male is expected to arrive Wednesday in Vallejo by trailer, Marine World spokesman Jeff Jouett said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has tried unsuccessfully to block the move, saying Kala should remain with his mother, Patience.

“Separating him from his mother at this point would be very detrimental to his development,” said Debbie Leahy, a PETA spokeswoman in Chicago.

Female elephants remain with their mothers for life in the wild, Leahy said, while males stay until they are 10 to 15 years old.

“To separate them any earlier, you’re just about guaranteeing that you’re going to have behavioral problems with them when they get older,” she said.

Kala is weaned and has not been with his mother for about three months, Jouett said. Patience is being kept with another group of elephants at the Missouri zoo.

“There’s no trauma at all,” he said. “His situation will be the same [in Vallejo], and his socialization will be normal and fine.”

That’s not how Performing Animal Welfare Society director Pat Derby sees it.

Weaning Kala so young was “unconscionable,” she said. Baby elephants in the wild typically nurse until they are 5 or 6 years old.

“These elephants are being bred simply for commercial purposes,” said Derby, an elephant expert who has worked at the San Diego and Cincinnati zoos and has studied pachyderms in the wild. “They’re really wanting to have a baby elephant as a commercial attraction.”

Marine World has elephants, tigers, marine mammals and other animals along with thrill rides. Park officials hope to artificially inseminate one of its African elephants next week, and a baby could be born in about two years.

When Kala, who will be part of the park’s breeding program, reaches sexual maturity in about six to eight years, a private barn will be built for him, Jouett said.

“It’s gotten to the point where you can expect some type of animal rights protest or media campaign with just about anything,” he said.