Pachyderm lady in the Hamburg Zoopark behaves with behavioral problems.
Animal rights activists are now sharply critical.
Video recordings should show the consequences of the captivity.
Hamburg - At first glance it looks as if the elephant is rehearsing a few dance steps.
She repeatedly takes a step back and forth, lifting her left leg, bending it and pulling it back a little in the air, then putting it back down on the sandy floor of her enclosure and starting the sequence of steps again.
The female elephant stands in a circle with her fellow elephants, who do not appear to be irritated by this behavior.
But as a viewer of these video recordings, one is somehow concerned.
Is that how a healthy pachyderm behaves?
It's sad pictures that @PETADeutschland took at Tierpark #Hagenbeck in Hamburg - and unfortunately not an isolated case.
A peta biologist says, "This is an extreme behavioral disorder and a direct result of captivity." Via @tonline https://t.co/Le6j5dUkH2
— Gregory Dauber (@GregoryDauber) January 16, 2023
The female elephant is 33-year-old Lai Sinh from Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg.
The Hamburger Morgenpost
also reported on the video .
The anomalies have been known for several years.
A biologist from the animal welfare organization Peta
then sharply criticized
t-online .
"We also have videos from the summer of 2022 showing the same animal." These are also intended to show that Lai Sinh walks back and forth for minutes.
This is an "extreme behavioral disorder" and a direct consequence of being in captivity," explains biologist Yvonne Würz.
According to Würz, elephants walk around 25 kilometers a day.
Which of course is not possible in a small animal enclosure.
Behaviorally disturbed female elephant: The animal already had these abnormalities when she arrived at the zoo almost 30 years ago
The veterinarian at the Hamburg Zoo vehemently denied the accusation that the animal was suffering from a disorder and came to the conclusion that there was "absolutely nothing to suggest" that Lai Sinh was suffering or impaired by her behavior.
The animal feels comfortable with Hagenbeck and does not show any stress behavior, the zoo veterinarian is
quoted on
t-online .
The elephant cow from Vietnam already showed the behavior pattern described when she arrived in Hamburg almost 30 years ago.
With these words, the zoo wipes the allegations of the animal rights activist from the table.
The portal
Zoos Medien-Echo
also jumps to the side of the Hamburg Zoopark.
Peta is known for lying, the Peta biologist once again falsely attested to "mental suffering" - as a direct result of the captivity.
At the same time, however, she could not explain why the other animals in Hagenbeck did not show the same pattern.
Malfunctioning female elephant - Zoos are often criticized
Animal parks are not only criticized by the animal protection organization PETA because of the often less than species-appropriate husbandry of their animals.
The animals would be displayed in zoos.
Every second animal in NRW even has behavioral problems.
In addition, Corona has also caused a dramatic financial situation in German zoos.
In the meantime there should be lists of which animal has to be slaughtered first.
Hagenbeck Zoo also saves where it can.
According to the company, the privately financed company does not receive any municipal grants.
The monthly energy costs alone are therefore in the six-digit range.
This year, the zoo expects a cost increase of at least 20 to 30 percent.
Currently more than 1850 animals live there.
According to
dpa
, the daily costs for food, care, electricity, water and much more are around 41,000 euros.
PETA not only campaigns for animals in captivity, but also for the keeping of cattle in rural areas - like this one in the Miesbach district.
But not every farmer likes to see this use either.
List of rubrics: © Hanno Bode/imago
