I would like to make a correction. The elephants can be easily seen locked in their tiny barn stalls. In this weather they are locked up 24 hours a day! Does it sound inhumane that the largest land mammal is confined this way? Does it sound inhumane that one of them is in solitarily confinement? Not according to Woodland Park Zoo who locks them up 16 - 17 hours a day for 7 months of the year. This is shameful when you consider the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee's sub-tropical climate will give them a home for life.

Animals that are not native to our kind of climate with its cold, wet weather, especially in winter, should not be kept here. Orangutans, elephants and tapirs are native to tropical and sub-tropical climates. They don't belong here and it is cruel to make them live here when they have to be locked up for long periods inside.

The fact that the zoo is more concerned about giving the zoo visitors what they want and the zoo visitors complaining that they can't see enough of the animals shows that the priorities are all mixed up. Tropical animals shouldn't be here in the first place. It's a completely unnatural scenario and the animals are the ones who lose by getting locked up, becoming neurotic and their health really suffers from this confinement. It's just plain wrong and anyone can see that.

Having lived in Seattle I am familiar with the winter conditions. Having also been a 'regular' at the zoo in past years I can also comment on the conditions for the elephants housed at WPZ. I remember well when the new Elephant Forest opened and the excitement we all felt at the beauty and (so we thought) spacious enclosure for the elephants living there. Years later I have educated myself a bit more and realize just how cruel this exhibit is for these animals. It is a well established fact that elephant bodies are designed for one main thing: walking. Walking for miles daily in search of food, water and other groups of elephants for socialization. When deprived of this basic need they are more susceptible to debilitating foot problems, respiratory ailments and arthritis that can shorten their lives drastically and also eventually kill them. Being inside also makes it much easier for infectious disease to spread, as has been the case at WPZ. When locked up for months at a time with no exercise they will also display the head bobbing and swaying in place that is most definitely not a 'happy dance,' but a deeply neurotic behavior caused by depression and boredom. Combine this with WPZ's dismal breeding program and what you have is a most miserable life for the elephants forced to live there. These elephants have paid with their lives to support this establishment for too long. Folks in Seattle should be outraged and DO something about it for the best of reasons: these highly intelligent, sensitive and social animals deserve better. Get them all to a sanctuary.

If a country like India can vote to let their elephants out of zoos why can't the US? Woodland Park Zoo is not showing any compassion whatsoever for these beautiful pachyderms. WPZ, if you love your elephants let them go! That sanctuary in Tennessee is ready to welcome them with open arms at no cost for the zoo...it's called love and not profit!

If we are going to talk about priorities, let's focus on our true goal: to protect elephants. Most elephants are not in zoos, most elephants are in the wild. If you want to protect elephants as a whole, don't distract yourself with the lifestyles of a few elephants that have legions of people protecting them (yes, I 'm referring to the elephants at the zoo). Please, please put your love and desire to make a difference (that's donating money and in-person volunteering) toward protecting wild elephants. The purpose of an elephant at a zoo is not to amuse the visitors, it's to foster the understanding of a visitor that an elephant is a wonderful creature worth appreciating and protecting in the wild. Zoos are actively supporting wild elephants, if you believe that you care more about elephants than the zoo, prove it. Moaning and groaning about zoo elephants while wild ones are being killed due to misunderstandings and poorly enforced laws is a gross misdirection of very good intentions. Absolutely take care of elephants. Once the wild is in balance, only then should you enjoy the luxury of worrying about the amusement of the few captive animals. Check out some ways you can help wild elephants by supporting these projects: http://www.elephanttag.org/General/general_conservation.html

You are absolutely correct that concern should be placed with wild elephants; and mine is. Financial support for wild elephant programs is crucial. Programs in Amboseli and the Sheldrick Trust are just two in Africa. ENP in Thailand is another. However, subjecting captive elephants to the lifestyle in zoos such as WPZ does NOTHING to save or conserve them. And I do believe that some zoos do a better job than others. How many healthy babies has WPZ produced? And despite their 'concern' and despite Hansa's death the plan is to subject their 'breeder' once again to in vitro fertilization so that another baby can rake in the bucks and quite possibly contract the same disease that killed Hansa. How is that educating or 'fostering understanding?'I have nothing against zoo keepers: they do the best that they can with what they have to work with. I am sure they love the animals in their charge. Since I once worked there I can tell you from experience that the focus is not to save animals but to maintain a sound business. Talking conservation is a PR, but back it up with sound environments for your animals; nothing is learned from animals displaying neurotic behaviors and kept inside for months at a time. Have a look at how elephants can live at www.elephants.com or PAWS in Galt. These are much better situations for the captive elephants we have to live their lives. If breeding is necessary provide enough space and a natural breeding program in a favorable environment so that they will flourish. Why isn't it done? Because zoos don't want to deal with bull elephants, don't want to buy that much land, don't cultivate natural family groups to make the birthing process successful and safe for mother and baby. I completely disagree that the first priority is the wild elephants: let's take better care of the ones whose families were slaughtered to bring them here in the first place. Nothing shows the public more about conservation than presenting an accurate depiction of how animals should be living in our stewardship.
So, my moaning and groaning will continue as long as the situation at WPZ remains as dismal as it is.

In Hohenwald last week through today per NOAA:
Today...12/4/09 Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Friday...12/5/09 Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 40s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night...Cloudy. A slight chance of light snow after midnight. Lows in the mid 20s. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 20 percent.

Saturday...12/6/09 Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of light snow in the morning...then partly sunny in the afternoon. Highs around 40. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 20 percent.

Saturday Night...Mostly clear. Cold with lows in the mid 20s.

Sunday...12/7/09 Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s.

Sunday Night Through Monday Night...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain showers. Lows in the lower to mid 30s. Highs around 50. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tuesday...12/8/09 Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain. Highs in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Tuesday Night...Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in the mid 30s to lower 40s. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Wednesday...12/9/09 Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain. Breezy with highs in the mid 40s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Thursday: 12/10/09 Sunny, with a high near 44.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Sound familiar?

It's called winter. And they do go out regularly!!! Play in the snow, have plenty of room to do so!! And then back to their lavish barns to warm up and then venture out again!!! At least they have the option!!! And PLENTY OF ROOM to decide for themselves which way they will go today!!!
No such options for WPZ eles.

This information comes from the Tennessee website on their animal care protocol Q&A as follows:

How long are the elephants inside the barn each day?
Some days the elephants are not in the barn at all. In the dead of winter they are usually inside from sunset until 9 a.m. (That's 16 hours!)

Do they come and go as they please?
The elephants have free-choice access from their barn to their habitat except on very cold nights when we must close the barn doors to contain the heat for their protection. (Wow! They are not given free choice??)

PS: today's weather in Hohenwald mostly cloudy with a high of only 37o F, tonight's low 26o F (except on very cold nights when we must close the barn doors, I wonder if tonight qualifies?).

Most of the time they do have free choice. Do WPZ's elephants EVER have a choice?And TN winters are not quite as long or severe as Seattle's, but then, doesn't sound as if facts are what interest you. Watch TES's elecam and see if you see anyone swaying and bobbing their heads in boredom and frustration. You can see that every day at WPZ! Sound like fun?
Also, try to get your head to understand the quality of their lives as something dependent on much more than the weather. Even if WPZ's eles were allowed outside in the winter, they do not have enough room to keep their feet healthy, let alone have the experience of doing what they prefer: socializing, walking for miles, eating tree bark and other natural foods, just being elephants. Guaranteed they have many more months to do just that than in Seattle. But, of course, that FACT is not going to mean much to someone who doesn't care to see the obvious. Elephants have value just being elephants: they are not here to entertain you, or me or anyone else.
You have not changed my mind, you have not presented anything that I have not seen before from folks who just don't get it.
So, go on, spend a day at the zoo. Ignorance is, indeed bliss.

There are two extinctions of elephants taking place. In the wild and in captivity. Zoos want the public to think that they are the elephants' friends. They're not. The WPZ elephants all came here by stealing them away from their mothers as infants and bringing them a world away to put them on display for a price. Zoos are a 19th Century form of show business, much like the circus. The zoo industry's head of the Elephant Taxon Group recently testified on behalf of Ringling Bros. Circus in their animal abuse trial. There isn't that much difference between the two and many zoo employees have a decidedly "circus" mentality, a totally exploitative mindset that believes these animals are there to make a lot of money for them.

The zoo board acts like the zoo is their own personal country club with exotic animals as a backdrop. They don't care about public concerns. They brag about buying off local politicians with contributions to their campaigns and all they talk about is money and influence.

The public should boycott Woodland Park Zoo until they stop their deadly elephant breeding and let the surviving adult elephants retire to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. It's the least the zoo can do at this point. And city council members who are in the zoo's back pocket should be voted out of office for insidious corruption.

Years ago, the public outcried for a killer whale named Keiko to be "free". Millions of dollars were spent to bring Keiko to a better facility and then to move him back to Iceland, where he was originally collected. Once he was in a sea-pen in Iceland, the outcry to release ALL killer whales from marine life parks were heard far and wide. Until they released Keiko into the Atlantic Ocean, only to have him die within 7 months of his release. People said his dorsal fin was bent "because he was unhappy". That was simply not true. Some killer whales' dorsal fins bend, some don't. Some polar bears pace. Some don't. SOme elephants sway. Some don't.
There is no one "better place" for elephants than their natural habitat. NATURAL HABITAT. That means Africa or Asia. Unfortunately, we, the human beings, have made much of their natural home unsafe and unfit for them. Whats the solution? Learning as much as we can about elephants and their plight. Grow compassion for ALL elephants, wild and captive. Where can we learn this from? Zoos, sanctuaries, and facilities that do their best to protect elephants and teach others.
Complain all you want that the zoo doesn't care about elephants. But tell me this? Where did you learn your compassion for elephants?

I don't know about anyone else, but I learned my compassion for elephants from experts who have studied them in the wild for years and from a novel called "The Roots of Heaven". In addition, from the elephants themselves; majestic, intelligent, and noble (certainly more noble than many humans). And from seeing them suffer in zoo exhibits that strip them of everything that is instinctual to them - depriving them of space, freedom, choice and forcing them to be bred only to lose their calves to horrible diseases and to live with other elephants they are not related to or even compatible with. Watching them being beaten with bullhooks and chained for long periods at the zoo. I remember seeing a keeper go after the baby Hansa with a bullhook because she was playing with an empty bucket. Oh, yes, zoos have taught me compassion for elephants, by abusing and depriving them so that I want to do everything possible to get them out of there. I guess the late curator, Les Schobert, was right. "Most zoo elephant managers are going to have to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the 21st century because they are not willing to come voluntarily. "

"Watch TES's elecam and see if you see anyone swaying and bobbing their heads in boredom and frustration."

Check this out on YouTube, Sanctuary Elephant Swaying.

It's found in the activist section of the website (elephant sway Tennessee nonprofit public service announcements sanctuary Hohenwald zoo swaying weaving).

I thought this doesn't happen in Tennessee?.......

Woodland Park Zoo's Elephant Forest exhibit, part of the Tropical Asia exhibit zone, is the 1990 winner of Best Exhibit by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).

The exhibit takes into account the need for indoor areas (the Thai–themed, heated elephant barn), and outdoor spaces with different grades and types of surfaces. The Elephant Forest also includes a large pool that the elephants are able to swim in during warmer times of the year.

The elephant herd has outdoor access 365 days a year. Most of the year, elephants are generally given free choice to outdoorareas and often have access 23 hours a day, while approximately an hour is spent in the barn for routine baths, training and husbandry procedures.

Because of Seattle's mild climate, our elephants roam their outdoor area year round – walking, foraging, playing and exploring.

Regardless of weather, they often choose to be inside the barn. This is because the elephants view the barn as "home," and are comfortable there, interacting closely with the keepers. It is a favorite spot, much like a favorite room or chair for people or pets at home.

In the winter, their time indoors is weather dependent. During inclement weather, they may choose to spend longer periods in the barn. In compliance with AZA's standards for elephant care, elephants are held in the heated barn only rarely, such as when temperatures are below 40 degrees F.

The Tarangire Elephant Tracking Project tracks African elephants in the Tarangire National Forest in Tanzania by means of global positioning systems to map their migration patterns. This will aid in drafting land use proposals to protect the elephants' migration, feeding and calving areas.

The program also supports the higher education of native Tanzanians who wish to devote their graduate work to conservation studies.

The Sri Lanka Elephant Awareness Project teaches children about the biology, habits and social life of the nearly 2,500 elephants that exist on the small island nation. Most of the children have only had negative contacts with elephants.

Through this program, it is hoped that a deeper understanding of the elephants' needs will be fostered in upcoming generations.

The Hutan Asian Elephant Conservation is a research and conservation program in Borneo. The long–term goal is to ensure the conservation of the elephant population of the Lower Kinabatangan and to reduce the rate of human⁄elephant conflicts. This is achieved through conservation research, local community involvement in managing local natural resources, local education and awareness on elephant conservation needs.

The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) is a non–profit organization that supports and operates elephant conservation and education programs both in managed facilities and in the wild, with emphasis on management, protection and scientific research.

Projects involved in the organization include habitat protection, anti–poaching, reduction of human⁄elephant conflict, ecotourism⁄environmental education and veterinary medicine.

Please see their website and support the IEF!

The elephants at WPZ spend 16 - 17 hours a day for the better part of 7 months of the year LOCKED in the elephant barn only able to walk a few steps in any direction. Bruce Upchurch, WPZ curator, confirmed the number of hours at the Dec. 2, 2008 Zoo Board meeting. That day's low was 43 degrees - not 40 - the criteria WPZ "says" they subscribe to. I was there recently on a day that the low was 47 degrees. The elephants were brought in at 3:30pm and the barn door was closed at 4:10pm. They will not get out until about 8:30am the NEXT day. Anyone who questions the severity of the elephants' confinement should go to the zoo and see for themselves. Who can believe this is humane?

I salute WPZ for supporting projects that help elephants in the wild but that doesn't absolve them of Bamboo, Chai and Watoto's suffering.

I can see that the zoo has finally mobilized their PR department to post their usual fictional accounts of how the elephants are treated at the zoo. Animal advocates have monitored the indoor/outdoor times of the elephants for over a year. The zoo's claim that they spend almost all their time outdoors is completely false. The African elephant, Watoto, is often locked in the small shower room that doesn't even have a level floor. Without enough room to turn around, she stands in her own feces and urine for up to 17 hours a day. She has been well documented as exhibiting increased aggression (Who can blame her?) as has Bamboo. Chai spends most of her time neurotically rocking back and forth when she isn't a forced participant in the zoo's deadly elephant breeding program. She's been artificially inseminated so many times, they've lost count. None of them have resulted in a birth, and even if they did, the calf would likely die from herpes, just like Hansa did.

Woodland Park Zoo only contributes token amounts to real wild elephant conservation and what they do contribute was elicited by criticism from animal advocacy groups that the zoo spends so much money on their failed breeding program and maintaining elephants in inhumane living conditions at the zoo rather than focusing on real elephant conservation.

Post #15's claim that the WPZ elephants roam and explore in their "habitat" is laughable. How much roaming and exploring can they do in a fraction of an acre zoo yard? Especially when they've been locked up there for over 20 years. The elephants are never playing or exploring. They have nothing to do and nowhere to go while the zoo managers and board members can go wherever they want. Maybe if these people spent a week or two locked up in a closet (which is the equivalent of what they do to the elephants) they would finally realize how inhumane their treatment really is of the largest land mammal on Earth.

I see the weather in Tennessee today is down to the mid 20s.
brr.

By February, the weather in central Tennessee begins to warm up rapidly. They have a very long growing season. That's why they picked that area for the sanctuary. The elephants have a wide variety of naturally growing vegetation to forage on most of the year. It doesn't start getting warm here until July!!!!!

In Seattle, they have nothing to forage on! They get monkey chow! And frozen melon to put on a show for the public in winter!

And in Tennessee, the elephants can go outside if they want, or stay in their state-of-the-art barn. It's their choice. Here in Seattle, they have NO choice. Humans decide everything for them and manage them, literally, to death. LOL!

This Afternoon: Partly sunny, with a high near 49. East wind around 5 mph.

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 46. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north.

Friday Night: A chance of rain showers before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 33. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 39. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night: A slight chance of snow, mainly before midnight, then a chance for flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday Night: A slight chance of flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. West southwest wind around 5 mph.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. West northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Wednesday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sounds like Seattle but this is actually from Hohenwald, Tennessee for the next seven days!

What is a day like in the life of a Sanctuary caregiver?

The elephant's morning begins around 6:30 AM with breakfast, supplements, a bath and any procedure required, such as a foot soak. As one or two caregivers tend to the needs of the elephants inside, another loads up the groceries on our "meals-on-wheels" 4-wheeler and heads out into the habitat to find the other elephants and give them their breakfast. It is standard to have a variety of things being done all at the same time.
Around 4pm caregivers begin the process of preparing for the 6pm feeding.

Some elephants choose to remain outside 24 hours a day while others come inside after dark. In an effort to encourage the elephants to utilize the habitat, their diets are brought to them. Baskets of produce and grain are labeled and placed on the 4-wheeler. A small wagon is towed behind with bales of hay, browse and other dietary supplements. Foot-soak buckets and foot-trimming tools are also loaded up for the elephant requiring a foot soak or trim. Two caregivers head out in search of elephants. When located the elephants are given their supplements, grain, produce and any medical procedure required out in the habitat.

How long are the elephants inside the barn each day?

Some days the elephants are not in the barn at all.
In the winter they are usually inside from sunset until 9 a.m.

Do they come and go as they please?

The elephants have free-choice access from their barn to their habitat.

On very cold nights when we must lock the elephants inside the barn in order contain the heat and for their protection.

Do they sleep outside?

When temperatures rise above 38 degrees the elephants usually sleep outside.

How do you get the elephants to do what you want them to do? Are they trained?

We employ passive control training in the care and management of our elephants. The elephants are taught through a system of positive reinforcement. Once the elephant understands what is being asked of him/her, the caregiver simply makes a request and the elephant is free to respond.

What is your point in listing the weather in Hohenwald? The weather this year there is atypical. However, no one said there isn't any winter weather there in December. What we have said is that after January, the weather warms up quickly and there is a long growing season which provides a wide variety of naturally growing vegetation for the elephants to forage on. What do the WPZ elephants have to forage on? They have no access to naturally growing vegetation and it doesn't start getting warm here until about June or July.

In addition, the sanctuary elephants have free choice access to a vast habitat most of the time. Only very rarely to they close the barn doors at night to preserve heat. The WPZ elephants have no choice. Case closed.

Yup, and if you care to watch the elecam you will probably see a few happy gals out and about!! As stated before, they have the choice, they have the area, they have the warm barn if they choose to stay inside. Of course, in the case of a storm it is always prudent to close the barn doors to maintain warmth inside.
If you care to also check weather patterns of Washington state versus TN you will find that the the temps in TN remain warmer for most of the year. But, I expect you will continue with your silly arguments.
Consider yourself lucky you are not Watoto, Boo or Chai.

Thursday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a low around 27. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

New Year's Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. North northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. North northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. North northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 15.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 35

See above posting.......

Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee - 2700 acres

Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle - 1 acre

Elephant Sanctuary - free access to 2700 acres

Woodland Park Zoo - locked in a cell 17 hours/day

Let's see - which would you prefer? Uh-huh, that's a real hard one!

From the TES FAQ:

In the winter they are usually inside from sunset (5:00 p.m.) until 9 a.m. (the next day)!

On very cold nights when we must lock the elephants inside the barn in order contain the heat and for their protection.

Sounds like the elephants are being locked in again in Tennessee, though this rarely happens, except "during very cold weather". Like last week, week before, week before that......hmmmm?

New Forecast for Hohenwald.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 12. Northwest wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 32. North northwest wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 22. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Thursday: Snow. High near 28. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 12. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Friday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21. North northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night: Scattered flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. North northwest wind around 10 mph.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 21. North northwest wind around 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 7. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 29.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 17.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 40.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40.

It is ridiculous to use the weather in the SE United States over the last couple of weeks as an example of typical weather down there. It obviously has not been typical.

Typical weather in Hohenwald, TN is a relatively mild winter with just a dusting of snow a couple of times in late December or in January. After January, the weather begins to warm up rapidly as opposed to Seattle that doesn't warm up until May, June or even July. The weather also typically stays warm much longer into the Fall down in TN.

Tennessee - sub-tropical climate, long growing season with a wide variety of naturally growing vegetation available to forage on. Over 2700 acres of natural habitat with a wide variety of natural substrates to walk on.
CONCLUSION: Elephant country

Seattle - non-tropical Northern climate, short growing season. No naturally growing vegetation available to the elephants. Less than an acre of outdoor space and locked in tiny rooms in the barn up to 17 hours a day 7 months a year. Concrete floors and tightly compacted, hard ground to stand and walk on.
CONCLUSION: Not good for elephants, better for grizzly bears.

"Typical weather in Hohenwald, TN is a relatively mild winter with just a dusting of snow a couple of times in late December or in January. After January, the weather begins to warm up rapidly"????

Weather for Hohewald:

Average Low Temperatures (farenheit)

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

2008 34.5 27.3 26.3 29.1 37.6

2002 36.3 33.3 32.3 28.6 35.1

2000 33 20.6 28.8 35.8 35.1

For some really historical perspective on the area:

1926 32.8 33.4 28.6 34.8 37.1

1912 31.7 30.3 21.5 23.7 37.1

Afternoon: Scattered flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 20. North northwest wind around 10 mph.

Tonight: Scattered flurries before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 9. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 29. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind around 5 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 16. Calm wind becoming southwest between 5 and 10 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. West southwest wind between 5 and 15 mph.

Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. North northwest wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23. North northwest wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47.

Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47.

HOHENWALD,TENNESSEE Brrrrrrrrr!

Exactly, Guest # 35. The atypical weather that has struck the SE is already moderating with highs of almost 50 Wed., Thurs., and Friday. Soon we will see more typical temperatures for the Hohenwald area while Seattle's weather will continue to be lower and wetter.

Bamboo has captivity-induced arthritis, chronic foot infections, chronic colic and well-documented neurotic aggression.

Watoto is infected with the same elephant herpesvirus that killed Hansa and has captivity-induced arthritis, chronic colic and well-documented neurotic aggression.

Chai has chronic foot infections and well-documented neurotic stereotypical repetitive behavior, rocking back and forth almost constantly.

Let Bamboo, Watoto and Chai go!

Hohenwald, Tennessee, USA

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Northeast wind around 5 mph.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 46. North northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 35. North northeast wind around 10 mph.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 47.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

M.L.King Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 49.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 51.

Guest #37, although the trend shows that Hohenwald's temperatures are rapidly moderating, instead of focusing on the ATYPICAL weather that has been occurring in the Southeast, why don't you respond to the life-threatening illnesses that the Woodland Park Zoo elephants are suffering from as described by Guest #36? These illnesses have been confirmed by the zoo's own records and studies done of wild elephant populations show that free-ranging elephants do not suffer from such illnesses. Nevertheless, they are prevalent in zoo elephants.

Weather for Hohewald:

Average Low Temperatures (farenheit)

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

2008 34.5 27.3 26.3 29.1 37.6

2002 36.3 33.3 32.3 28.6 35.1

2000 33 20.6 28.8 35.8 35.1

1926 32.8 33.4 28.6 34.8 37.1

1912 31.7 30.3 21.5 23.7 37.1

Bunny

Lota

Ned

Zula

Delhi

Jenny

Queenie

Tina

Barbara

Of Asian calves born in zoos in the last 10 years, 75% of them are now dead, including Woodland Park Zoo's Hansa. And the deaths of African calves and adult Asian and African elephants is mindboggling.

And you still haven't responded to the captivity-related illnesses that Bamboo, Watoto and Chai suffer from. I can understand why. There really aren't any good excuses one can make about killing elephants by inches each day with inhumane living conditions.

The elephants you mentioned that died at The Elephant Sanctuary came from zoos and circuses and all but Bunny died from their captivity related illnesses that they got in those zoos and circuses which underscores the need to get them out of those venues. India has ordered all elephants out of zoos and circuses. But then they are more progressive regarding these animals than we are in this country. We still like to sacrifice and torture animals for our own entertainment, don't we?

I just learned that Woodland Park Zoo has been named to the 'Hall of Shame' list by a national animal group In Defense of Animals (IDA). They were named three times before to the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list. I guess the 'Hall of Shame' is reserved for zoos that are repeat offenders who have made little or no progress in the welfare of their elephants. The zoo was named because of its deadly elephant breeding program and because they lock them up in tiny rooms in the barn for long periods and only give them a fraction of an acre of outdoor space when elephants are used to walking miles every day in the wild. When I called the zoo to talk about these concerns that, frankly, shocked me, the lady there said I was misinformed and hung up on me. Wow! I'm thinking maybe they deserve to be in the 'Hall of Shame'.

Looks like the elephants will be locked in all night again for the next week to ten days.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. South wind around 5 mph becoming northwest.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 44. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Rain likely before midnight, then rain, freezing rain, and sleet likely. Cloudy, with a low around 32. Northeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Friday: Snow, freezing rain, and sleet. High near 33. Northeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. North northeast wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 31. North wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 12. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 43.

Monday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42.

Normal weather for western Tennessee......

This Afternoon: Snow, freezing rain, and sleet. High near 29. East northeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime ice accumulation of 0.3 to 0.5 of an inch possible. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow and sleet, possibly mixed with freezing rain, becoming all snow after midnight. Low around 26. Northeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New ice accumulation of 0.2 to 0.4 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of snow before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 30. North northeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 12. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 31. North northwest wind around 5 mph.

Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 17. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 5 mph.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. East wind around 5 mph becoming north.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.

Wednesday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45.

Hohenwald, Tennessee

Wow! Up to 17 hours locked up in the shower room with a slanted floor! The African elephant, Watoto, languishes and is driven crazy by this inhumane solitary confinement. Did she commit some crime? Nope! The zoo just wanted to make some money off of her, so they decided to incarcerate her and charge a big fee so people could come and look at her dying by inches each day.
WAY TO GO, WOODLAND PARK ZOO!!! YOU SURE ARE ALL ABOUT ELEPHANT CONSERVATION!!!! NOT!!!!!!

The strong opinions that elephants evoke can
either be useful, driving one to greater efforts to
save the species, or they can be counterproductive.

If we allow ourselves to be blinded
by our convictions, we may at best fail to see
beneficial aspects of other positions and, at
worst, contribute to the demise of the creatures
we seek to save.