Gita the Elephant has died. Please attend protest at L.A. Zoo Sunday

Please join us to demand L.A. Zoo to send the remaining
elephants, Billy and Ruby, to an elephant sanctuary and to cease
keeping elephants.

When: Sunday, June 11, 2006, 12:00 noon
Where: L.A. Zoo, in front of main entrance
Contact: Catherine Doyle (323) 301-5730

In an incident hauntingly reminiscent of the death of
39-year-old Tara in December 2004, Gita was found collapsed this
morning in her enclosure and died a short time later.

"We hold L.A. Zoo, the mayor, and the city accountable for
Gita's death. They all failed her," says Catherine Doyle,
representative of IDA and head of the local group Los Angeles
Alliance for Elephants. "It was criminal not to have moved Gita
to a sanctuary a couple of years ago, before her condition
worsened due to standing on concrete in her enclosure, one of
the conditions known to be the cause of lethal foot and joint
problems in elephants. It's time for the city to admit it just
can?t properly care for elephants."

Zoo medical records indicate that Gita began to suffer from foot
infections while still in her teens and developed arthritis in
her 20s. Last September, Gita underwent surgery for her steadily
deteriorating foot condition, so severe bone in one of her toes
had "disappeared" -- literally rotted away due to advanced
infection.

Advocates have long warned that Gita?s health would continue to
deteriorate if she remained in zoo conditions that are known to
cause irreparable damage to elephants' feet and joints,
including restricted enclosure space and concrete flooring, yet
the Zoo refused to place Gita in more a more suitable, natural
habitat environment.

"I believe Gita's condition is poor to guarded. I will be
astonished if she lives another six months," said 23-year zoo
and wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Mel Richardson in October 2005,
after reviewing Gita?s medical records from May 20, 2005 through
August 9, 2005 and observing her at LA. Zoo. "Gita is in this
condition directly because of the over forty years of inactivity
and over forty years of standing on concrete and/or hard packed
substrate."

Asian elephants in the wild are known to reproduce into their
50s and have a natural lifespan of 70 years. Of the 12 known
elephant deaths at L.A. Zoo, more than half the elephants did
not live to see age 20. Field scientists report that ailments
plaguing elephants in zoos, such as foot infections, are unheard
of in wild elephant populations, where elephants? ability to
travel over thirty miles a day helps to maintain healthy feet
and joints. Arthritis and foot problems are the two leading
causes of euthanasia in captive elephants in the United States.

Please visit http://www.HelpElephants.com for more information.