the video’s not too interesting yet; everyone knows the zoo shouldnt have elephants cause of the foot and other problems it causes; they should be sent to elephant preserves.

video started freezing at 230 left; and what’s the buffering tag that appears in upper right corner when it does? gave up with 200 to go; did anyone watch this before put on, or is it just my computer?

Everyone knows if you want to save a specie you have to save their habitat. As Mr. Bonner states $1 goes a long way in range countries in Asia and Africa (and around the world).

The zoo industry is a multi-BILLION dollar business; yet not even 1% of their revenues goes towards habitat protection. If zoos cared about animals and “conservation” (which is primarily habitat protection) they would stop wasting hundreds of millions of dollars building statues, carousels, amusement rides (i.e. trains) and keeping animals in inadequate condition. Zoos, including St. Louis, spend millions of dollars inhumanely confining the world’s largest mammals to inadequate enclosures which do not allow the elephants to exhibit their natural migratory behaviors. Elephants in the wild walk miles every day - this constant movement is essential to their mental and physical well being. Elephants in zoos suffer psychological and physical health problems. The majority of elephants (and other species) in zoos exhibit abnormal repetitive behaviors which result from the severe confinement; in addition, elephants in captivity die on average at roughly half their natural lifespan of 60-70 years.

Let’s face - Mr. Bonner and the zoo industry are in the business of displaying animals … not saving them. If YOU really care about helping animals do not waste money on zoos rather HELP SAVE HABITAT in the wild which will in turn save the lives of many species. I’m sorry Mr. Mahlon B. Wallace III of Ladue wasted his money on a statue rather than truly helping animals who desperately need his help.

I’ve never seen such a crock. If that crazy old rich guy (with more money than brains) really liked elephants, he should have bought, either a bunch of property for the elephants habitat, or paid to get them to the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. 7-8 elephants in about 1-1/2 acre right now?? Are you kidding me. Ask Clara how she liked being an elephant at the zoo. Oh that’s right, she’s dead because of the facilities at the zoo. She had MAJOR foot problems (the leading cause of death for captive elephants) because of the outdoor area being so hard and because her concrete enclosure, where she was forced to live every night & all through the winter. She died 20 years too soon, yet I had an employee argue with me that she actually lived 10 years too long. She said they should have put her to sleep a long time ago. Well, if that’s true, that’s even worse. And while you’re at it, ask the polar bears (he failed to mention this when talking about zoos are going to save the species) liked living at the St. Louis. Oh that’s right they’re dead too. The male died from eating a zoo employees bag that he forgot in the enclosure (I heard they lied about it being a garbage bag). And then the female died shortly after because they inserted an IUD into her when she was pregnant (which can kill them, but it did save them a few dollars to not do a pregnancy test). Why the USDA only fined them $7,500 is beyond belief. And then allow them to get another one?? The this guy tells us about the dangers the polar bears face out in the wild?? If you believe anything this zoo says about the care/love the animals receive, then you are probably waiting to find the WMD’s in Iraq. Don’t be stupid anymore. Boycott that zoo until they PROVE the can provide a better quality life for the animals in their care (by the way, a few of their other bears do the whole rocking/pacing thing too). Getting a huge expensive statue of an elephant is great only if they replace their entire inventory (they are a profit organization - do not forget that) with statues and send their current living breathing elephants to the 2,000 acre elephants sanctuary in Tennessee. Peace & KINDNESS, KINDNESS, KINDNESS!!!