Ailing Lucy the elephant will remain in Edmonton, zoo decides

Lucy, the Edmonton Valley Zoo's ailing 47-year-old Asian elephant, is now breathing solely through her mouth and is not fit to travel, a recent medical assessment has concluded.

"Lucy's breathing issue is more serious than the visiting experts anticipated," the City of Edmonton said in a news release Tuesday.

Despite calls over the years for Lucy to be moved to an elephant sanctuary, she will live out her remaining years at the zoo.

Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums requires an independent assessment of Lucy yearly to keep her in Edmonton as a lone elephant. The most recent assessment provided "great insights into Lucy's health and wellness, including medical information previously unknown," the city said.

The assessment was performed by four elephant veterinary and husbandry experts: Dr. Frank Goeritz, Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, Dr. Patricia London and Ingo Schmidinger.

Their findings — in three reports — have been published by Free the Wild.

"Aside from her ineligibility to travel, she is a geriatric patient and would not be able to cope with her new environment (unfamiliar habitat, new caretaker staff, and other elephants)," Goeritz and Hildebrandt wrote in their report.

Not unanimous

Not all of the visiting experts agreed that Lucy is not fit for travel. 

"Lucy is being kept more like a pet and not being allowed to be the wild elephant she is," London wrote in her report.

"It is also highly possible that the cold dry environment may be adding to her respiratory problems."

Lucy's mouth breathing was first reported in 2009, when endoscopic exploration of her trunk discovered a narrowing of the nasal passage.

Her breathing problems have since worsened, and now include "very severe" hypoxemia and hypercapnia — low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels in her blood and tissues, Goeritz and Hildebrandt  found.

The root cause of the condition remains undiagnosed. 

The experts also discovered a large uterine tumour, (leiomyoma) which they say is common in female elephants who have never given birth. The tumour is being treated with a vaccine recommended by the visiting veterinarians. 

Recommended changes to Lucy's diet and medical treatments have resulted in a 326-kilogram weight loss since the assessment was conducted four months ago, the release said.

Goeritz and Hildebrandt concluded Lucy potentially has another four to eight years to live, and "would not survive independently from humans.

"[The] ultimate goal is to keep Lucy stimulated and engaged and to provide her with good care for the rest of her life," they wrote.

London, however, said Lucy could live another 15 years or longer, and recommended she be transported to an elephant sanctuary in the United States.

"Both the temperature and the decreased amount of sunlight in Edmonton creates an inhospitable and cruel environment for an Asian elephant," London wrote.

"The forced walks on the snow and ice in –15 C weather borders on absurd." 

Lucy was born in the wild and brought to Edmonton from Sri Lanka as a two-year-old orphan in 1977. 

The zoo began her gradual retirement from public activities in 2020.

Zoo director Gary Dewar said Lucy's caretakers are dedicated to her well-being.

"Over the past 45 years, staff at the Edmonton Valley Zoo have worked tirelessly to give Lucy the best care and best home she deserves," Dewar said in the city's news release.

"We will strive to ensure she continues to receive excellent care." 

The zoo will continue to monitor Lucy's weight and overall health, as well as look at possible changes to her housing, enrichments and routines, Dewar said.

He said some of the experts will return later this year to do follow-up examinations.