posted December 04, 2012 04:15 PM            

What zoo officials did not disclose in any news releases was the fact that they do not own the baby elephant, and that she might become separated from her family and end up in a traveling show.

The Seattle Times reported Monday that the newborn is the property of Have Trunk Will Travel, a private company that "rents out pachyderms to the entertainment industry, stages circuslike events and offers elephant rides at $500 an hour."

Have Trunk Will Travel owns Tusko, the father of both of Rose-Tu's offspring, but Tusko resides at the Oregon Zoo. Under terms of a contract between Have Trunk Will Travel and the zoo, the former company is entitled to the second, fourth and sixth offspring produced by the pair of adults.

The Times reported that its discovery of the breeding contract "highlights the dark side of elephant captivity, in which zoos are desperate to breed more elephants at any cost" because of their immense popularity as show animals.

Have Trunk Will Travel, which is located in Perris, Calif., has come under fire from animal rights groups for the manner by which its elephants are trained.

The Oregon Zoo, after acknowledging the existence of the breeding contract, issued a statement to Times reporter Michael J. Berens, stating:

"The contract is valid. As per the agreement, official designation of ownership take effect after the calf has lived 30 days. Once that happens, the Oregon Zoo will be in a discussion with Have Trunk Will Travel regarding ownership, and it is the zoo's intention to retain Rose-Tu's calf."

Kari Johnson, who co-owns Have Trunk Will Travel with her husband, Gary, said they were looking forward to visiting the newborn elephant and added that details regarding her future have not been worked out.

Meanwhile, publicly, the zoo still wears a happy face regarding their prized new addition. A large headline on its website home page reads, "Welcome to the herd, baby!" And the naming contest continues, via public voting, with submissions such as Jaidee, Sirikit, Rakhi, Lily and Siddhi under consideration.

Voting concludes Sunday, and perhaps by then zookeepers will know more about whether the young elephant will be able to stay with her family, or end up in a traveling show.

In the wild, the bond between mother and daughter is lifelong.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/44363/will+oregon+zoos+prized+baby+elephant+end+up+in+a+traveling+show/

posted February 07, 2013 06:24 PM            

An Oregon zoo says it will retain possession of the country's newest baby elephant, a 300-pound female that hasn't yet been named, even though it won't own the animal.

A breeding contract gives ownership of the calf born Friday in Portland to a California for-profit elephant rental company, Have Trunk Will Travel. But the zoo said the elephant will live out her life within its walls.

"It was never in question for this calf," Oregon Zoo director Kim Smith said. "(She) was always going to live here."

The elephant is the second baby for Rose-Tu, a female that has spent her life in a zoo after being born into captivity, and Tusko, a male that is on long-term loan to the Oregon Zoo from Have Trunk Will Travel. A 2005 contract between the company and the zoo says the company takes ownership of the pair's second, fourth and sixth offspring after 30 days.

But Smith said Have Trunk Will Travel expressed no interest in taking the calf during negotiations with the zoo that started before the animal was born. The company didn't respond to repeated calls and emails Tuesday from The Associated Press.

Have Trunk Will Travel co-owner Kari Johnson told The Seattle Times, "I can't wait to hug her."

The newspaper on Monday night reported the details of the contract, the substance of which was mentioned in a 2011 story in The Oregonian.

Under the agreement, the zoo kept Rose-Tu's first calf, a male born in 2008 named Samudra. He pulled in record-breaking attendance in his first month on public view.

But zoo ownership contracts differ from typical contracts that define ownership, Association of Zoos and Aquariums spokesman Steven Feldman said. While ownership agreements are in place, the parties involved usually defer to the organization that can best care for the animal.

Both the Oregon Zoo and Have Trunk Will Travel are association members.

"It is a rather remarkable and unique system that you don't find in other lines of work," Feldman said. "That's just how it works."

Feldman said most koalas in the U.S., for instance, are owned by the San Diego Zoo, which loans them out to other zoos or organizations with several stipulations, including that the koalas get fresh eucalyptus. It's part of their "Species Survival Plan," something drawn up by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for 303 species.

Standards issued by the association range from the amount of shade and drinking water that should be made available to Asian elephants, to pad and nail trimming.

Five names for the calf were proposed by the zoo. The calf will be named in an online vote. Samudra and the new calf are the nation's first third-generation offspring born into captivity.

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Online:

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums Standards for Elephant Management and Care, http://bit.ly/ViHddP

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Reach reporter Nigel Duara on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/RSmBei