The Los Angeles City Council has ruled: The elephant stays in the picture.
Just a month ago, council members temporarily halted construction on the Los Angeles Zoo's $42-million Pachyderm Forest exhibit while they considered killing the project and removing elephants from the zoo altogether. But on Wednesday, at the end of a raucous, three-hour meeting, they voted 11 to 4 to allow the zoo to complete the exhibit and keep its solitary Asian bull elephant, Billy.
Once again, the issue of elephants had transformed a chamber more accustomed to the dronings of bureaucrats into a rally of energetic believers on both sides -- animal welfare activists, zoo supporters and staffers, fundraisers and, of course, celebrities, all displaying a passion that sometimes took the council members by surprise.
When it became clear the zoo would get to keep its elephant, supporters wearing green T-shirts emblazoned with "Save Pachyderm Forest" jumped to their feet screaming while well-heeled zoo fundraisers embraced. A couple of hundred opponents, meanwhile, looked on soberly and trudged out.
The decision was the climax to three months of rallies, news conferences and dueling pleas of experts and citizen animal-lovers alike over whether the world's largest land mammal could thrive in what the zoo touted as a world-class exhibit.
Hefty offers of money abounded: The zoo's fundraising arm promised to cover the city's $14.5-million commitment to the exhibit. Retired game show host Bob Barker, meanwhile, pledged $1.5 million to pay for Billy's upkeep if he were moved to a sanctuary, as animal welfare advocates hoped.
Zoo Director John Lewis said he believed his institution's fundraising organization, the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., and his staff were instrumental in persuading the council to revive the project. "Just the staff coming out in force and clearing up animal care issues was part of it," said Lewis, who also cited community support as key.
People on both sides said the recent interest of labor leaders may have played a part. "I think what happened is labor came forward and said they'd lose jobs -- which was not true," said animal welfare advocate Melya Kaplan. "If the space was used for other animals, then labor would continue to have jobs."
Opponents of the exhibit argued that zoo elephants should be retired to huge sanctuaries that mimic a wild preserve. Supporters, on the other hand, believe the Los Angeles Zoo offers state-of-the-art care and a chance for people of all backgrounds to see an elephant up close.
