Ruby, the Gentle Matriarch
of PAWS African Elephants
February 18, 1961- March 29, 2011
On May 15, 2007, the Los Angeles Zoo delivered Ruby, a 46-year-old African elephant,
to ARK 2000, PAWS’ 2,300-acre sanctuary in San Andreas, California, to
live in retirement with 71, Mara and Lulu, PAWS three African elephants.
Within
days, Ruby had socialized with the other elephants and became an
important member of the group, roaming the hills and foraging on the
grassy slopes with her new friends.
Ruby became
the respected and beloved matriarch of the group over the next few
years, and was often seen on top of the hill, ears flared, guarding her
companions with the fierce determination of a wild elephant matriarch.
Everyone
who worked with Ruby was mesmerized by her beautiful eyes and her
gentle disposition. She will be missed by elephants, caregivers and her
many fans who were privileged to share her life.
At 50 years of age, Ruby was one of the oldest African elephants in captivity.
Ruby died at 6 p.m. on March 29th. Ruby’s veterinarian, Dr. Jackie Gai, PAWS
director, Pat Derby, and the entire elephant staff were with her when
she passed. A necropsy is being performed at UC Davis, and results are
still pending.
Ruby’s
records show that prior to her transfer to Los Angeles Zoo, she was
transferred several times and performed with Circus Vargas. The trauma
from capture and transfer is devastating to a young elephant. Obviously,
Ruby’s life was the ultimate cause of her death.
The loss
of this magnificent individual is a direct result of captivity and
its traumatizing effect on elephants. We must stop the senseless capture
and export of wild elephants and keep elephants in the wild.
REST IN PEACE DEAR FRIEND.
Pat Derby
President, PAWS
(For more videos click here, for past stories click here
Rest in Peace dear sweet Ruby.
I remember looking at the elephants in the news
and thinking to myself, they seem to be the same as we are – they love each other, have families, are socially organized. Sometimes I think that
the propensity to own other beings is what dictators follow – it feeds their lust for power
and their greed. Yes, just like Gadhafi, Saddam Husseim, Hitler, far too many.
Like many, I have made the personal journey to opposing all animal captivity, or any kind. I know the arguments about how Zoo’s introduce children to animals they would never see in their regular lives, etc, etc but what does that say about us as a society that we reduce living creature to teaching tools? That premise carried to its illogical conclusion would have us put all of our beloved pets and put them in small cages so we can better examine them? What madness!
Ruby is now at the Rainbow Bridge …. waiting.
http://www.petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm
Releasing Ruby to the sanctuary is just about the only thing I can think of this city did that was fair and just in many years. While it took lots of pressure, ultimately right prevailed.
Ruby also stood for something else – a silent reminder of the patience and forgiveness animals seem to have for mankind.
How is it in this modern era we are still caging wild animals? There are far better ways to inform people about the natural world. The LA Zoo should be tranformed into a multimedia entertainment and educational complex with the latest in 3d technology to bring the natural world to the general public. The zoo should only be used to heal sick animals for release back to their natural habitat or to help reestablish endangered indigenous species.
that was beautiful
I had hoped the zoo would have shifted over to media and robotics to teach children. Today’s children would have been as impressed with that. What does a kid actually learn when seeing a real elephant in a zoo, rocking back and forth due to neutrotic behavior?
What ultimately happened with the elephant exhibit was a union and Wasserman thing. Their influence trumped what was right.