City Board Approves $2.1 Million to Demolish L.A. Zoo Elephant Pen

After years of talk and some controversy, the city Board of Public Works on Friday approved spending $2.1 million to help move forward a plan for new exhibits for elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo.

The board’s vote allows the city on Monday to begin demolishing the old elephant pen to clear space for the eventual construction of a 3.7-acre exhibit that is expected to cost at least $38.7 million. The exhibit is being paid for with a combination of city funds, bond revenues and money the city is borrowing. The zoo has room to keep animals out of public view during construction.

Activists for years have pushed city elected officials to send the zoo’s elephants to sanctuaries where they have more room to roam. Instead, the City Council decided earlier this year to expand the pachyderm exhibit.

Not long after the council’s decision, one of the zoo’s three elephants died, leading to more controversy when the zoo later determined that Gita, a 48-year-old Asian elephant, likely had been ill for more than seven hours before zoo staff provided medical attention on the morning of June 10. She died a few hours later.

The Board of Public Works also approved the use of city crews for construction of an elaborate exhibit for golden monkeys. The golden monkey exhibit will be built after the elephant project is completed.

In 2002, then-Mayor James K. Hahn traveled to China with hopes of securing pandas for the zoo. Instead, the city was later given the right to lease golden monkeys.