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Hi, I'd like to share three minutes of your time to talk about elephants,
specifically, Chai, Bamboo and Watoto, the three elephants on display
at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.
Chai and Bamboo are from Thailand, where elephants roam miles each day
with their family and companions in a tropical climate.
Watoto is from Kenya, which also has a warm climate.
Seattle, on the other hand, can be pretty chilly between October and April
with low temperatures ranging from 35 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
During these colder months the zoo staff lock up the elephants for 16 to 17 hours a day
in indoor stalls averaging 750 square feet each.
Now, 750 square feet may sound like a lot, but for us
that's the equivalent of a square room under 5 feet wide,
less than the average adult arm span.
It's less space than the prisoners in Alcatraz had.
That sounds pretty stifling, especially for such intelligent creatures
as elephants, but is it really that bad?
Well, the leading cause of death for elephants in captivity is foot and joint disease
primarily caused by inactivity and prolonged standing on hard surfaces,
so yes, it IS that bad. In a sense, living at Woodland Park Zoo
is like a slow death sentence for an elephant.
Where else could the elephants go? One humane option is
The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennesee.
Unlike Woodland Park Zoo, which has less than one acre of space
for the elephants to share, The Elephant Sanctuary has 2700 acres
of varied terrain where many retired zoo and circus elephants
roam free 24 hours a day.
The climate is much friendlier than Seattle's, and the Sanctuary staff
provide care around the clock.
The Elephant Sanctuary has offered to accept Chai, Bamboo,
and Watoto free of charge. It seems like the obvious compassionate choice.
Ok, 2 minutes are up, but I'm asking for one more minute...
The next time you're in your walk-in closet, take 60 seconds and just stand still...
Now imagine doing that for 16 hours a day...
...seven months a year...
...for the rest of your life.
Please help make a difference... share this video with your friends
and visit freewpzelephants.com to learn more.