Poor Chai, who stood helplessly by and watched her sweet calf, Hansa, suffer a gruesome and painful death in a pool of diarrhea (with no human keepers in attendance) will be subjected to the same horrifying occurrence within 10 years if she does become pregnant as WPZ hopes. Any calf will be born into a Herpes-infected environment; WPZ knew the risks when they sent Chai to be artificially inseminated at a zoo whose elephants had been exposed to the herpes virus, but thought the risk was worth it in order to produce a money-making calf. (This is documented information). This action on the part of WPZ is unconscionable, unethical and cruel. And the Ballard News Tribune's acceptance of the zoo's puff pieces is also unconscionable. Enlightened zoos (e.g. Detroit) have released their elephants to sanctuaries, knowing that there is not enough room in an urban zoo for these enormous animals who need to walk miles every day. The 3 elephants at WPZ have less than 1 acre outside (The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has 2,700 acres) and tiny barn stalls where they spend most of their time. The zoo says that artificial insemination is non-invasive?? I wonder how they reach that conclusion.
Chai has suffered this procedure over 56 times in the zoo's attempt to make money. They love to talk about conservation and education but the money they spend to inadequately house these animals could indeed go a long way to help elephants in the wild.

Herpes killed Hansa. There is no cure for this horrifically painful and deadly disease. Shame on Woodland Park Zoo.

How can people, supposedly concerned with the health, safety and perpetuity of elephants, be so ignorant?

This article sickens me.
1. For the elephants being kept in small quarters.
2. The almost intentional spread of disease.
3. The insensitivity to Chai's loss of her offspring and her mental well being.
4. Chai has been inseminated 56 times! The last instance in 2008, she miscarried.

This is stressful and traumatic to her. Even if you don't think elephants have feelings like people, one can't deny the stress of a miscarriage on the body and hormones! Hr body is under constant stress. It takes an elephant 22 months to bring a calf to term. If Chai has been pregnant, even half of those 56 times, that is awful for her to endure.

If this 'zoo' and the Elephant Taxon Advisory Group of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums had any compassion or integrity, they would stop trying to breed sick animals.

Please reconsider infecting another sweet life to such a dreadful disease. Dont' impregnante Chai. Have a heart. The quality of life of the inhabitants should outweigh all else. They didn't choose to be there, so give them the best life you can. Thank you.

I cannot believe that they are at it again...Didn't they learn anything w/ Hansa's death? These people apparently have no conscience. Since I believe in karma, someday they'll pay for what they are doing. How very wrong! Poor Chai and poor eventual baby, born prisoner! And with this herpes virus lurking, another tragedy is bound to happen. Shame on WPZ! "Plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose".

Not having a choice about participating in sex is rape - by men if the paper would notice - and over 56 times! My God, what kind of paper are you?. When even with half-ass research, the AZA is shown to be overt bullies and Schmitt is part of that list. When the Topeka city council discussed closing their elephant exhibit and sending their two elephants to a sanctuary, the AZA spokesman threatened that if they did such they would not allow their lone female gorilla a new mate, thus making 3 animals miserable.

Zoos only profess to have concern for their animals/conservation/education, but it is which animal that brings in the money that matters - a zoo can only fool some people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time - and that is this paper's job to expose the dirty dealings behind the corruption in zoos. Putting Chai through rape an enormous number of times couldn't be more overt as to their money-slanted intentions, and respect for the paper only deminishes when articles are printed with the conservation/education slant (which just don't hold water) quoted by someone as spurious as Schmitt.

I am so appalled at what this zoo has become. What is the matter with these people? Don't they have any moral compass at all? I wonder. These poor animals must be sent to the sanctuary where they will no longer be exploited by these self-serving people. What is the matter with the City of Seattle? Can't you see what's wrong with the way this zoo is being run? They don't care about the animals. They only care about themselves, their paychecks and their careers. I will not go to the zoo anymore. They have lost me as a customer. Poor, poor Chai.

It's time for all of us to care enough to stop the suffering of WPZ's elephants. All were captured from their families in the wild as babies, beaten upon capture to "break" them, and confined for decades to unreasonably small spaces at WPZ, including for 16 hours overnight in barn stalls where they must stand, walk, and lie in their own wastes!

This isn't life. This is torture, as is WPZ's repeated artificial insemination of Chai to produce another baby elephant to boost gate receipts during an economic downturn.

Shame on WPZ!

Please don't just copy press releases. Especially, it the claims are clearly questionable.

"The non-invasive technique uses new technology developed within the last decade. It offers a safe alternative for elephants to become pregnant without needing to travel to another institution and spend months away from their social group, according to the press release."

How do you think this animal feels like being trapped in shackles as it's being inseminated? How would you feel if it happened to you?

I used to visit the WPZ. No more.