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1962 was a big year for the Oregon Zoo. A 225 lb baby was born — a baby elephant named Packy. The birth of this "precocious pachyderm" as he was often called, launched the zoo (then called the Portland Zoological Gardens) into the national spotlight because he was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in over 44 years. That year baby Packy drew a record number of visitors to the zoo — more than 1.2 million.
Today Packy is close to an elephant senior citizen. He'll turn 49 this spring. Most elephants live to be 60 to 70 years old. The man who helped bring him into the world — the zoo's first veterinarian — Matthew Maberry, has written a book with his wife Patricia that chronicles Packy's story, simply called, Packy & Me.
Since the time of Packy's birth, the zoo has seen many changes including two name changes. In 1976 it was renamed the Washington Park Zoo, and has been called the Oregon Zoo since 1998. Today Metro, the regional government of Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas counties, owns the zoo, and plans to expand the elephant program, with hopes to build a 200 acre off-site elephant center where the herd can grow for generations.
With the decline of natural wildlife habitat around the world, the role of zoos has evolved from being menageries of exotic species to increasingly focus on conservation education.
Do you remember Packy's birth? What changes have you noticed in the Oregon Zoo over the years? What role do you think zoos play in wildlife and habitat conservation?
Guests:
- Dr. Matthew Maberry - Former veterinarian of the Oregon Zoo
- Patricia Maberry - Wife of Dr. Maberry, co-author of Packy & Me, Matthew Maberry's life story
- Mike Keele - Oregon Zoo Director of Elephant Habitats
- Rebecca Culler - Education specialist at Wildlife Habitat Council
Photo credit: Think Out Loud
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I'd love to make some sort of Canadian joke now but really they're usually more about moose than elelphants. (And thanks to my colleague who corrected my typo!)
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Is it true that Canadians actually put Moose muffle in tins for Canadians over seas to enjoy during their version of Thanksgiving?
I've heard its pretty yummy. Sara Palin serrves it on a regular basis. She also kills, guts, skins and whacks off the muffle herself. You do NOT want her anywhere near a zoo.
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Most Zoo animals seem to be suffering from Anaclitic Depression: Low Energy, Sleeping all day, Hiding, Avoiding their fans, Bored, Too Hot or Too Cold, Spending all their time around the feeding trough, Sniffing dung, Listless, Ignoring the situation, throwing poop at teens. It's as if a multimillion dollar climate controlled, auto-cleaned, furnished habitat with personal waterfall is just not enough compared to their natural surrounding. If a prison was opened to public tourism, would the human inmates similarly behave like withdrawn and sad animals?
I go to the Zoo to watch humans. See the range of human body types, fashion and fashion mistakes, family resemblances, familial gaits, fighting, misbehaving, teens begging for money, teasing animals, iPod Zombies, buffons making catcalls, mothers screaming at their kids, kids ignoring parents, brothers punching each other, girls gossiping, fat people overeating waffle cones, kids fighting over a drinking fountain, text messagers walking into poles, wives nagging their husbands, gangsta boy with pants falling down, .....
Watch the faces people make in the monkey house and the sounds they make in the penguin house. There is a lot of energetic animal behaviors at the zoo, but the interesting observations at the zoo are more often on our side of the bars.
I wonder what the animals think of us?
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Or think about going from the zoo to downtown or a mall and watching people there.
We primates are particularly interesting. Think of a womens hair salon or a mens barber shop and then think back over the grooming behaviors of our ancestors in the zoo and in the wild.
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Yes, I AM a fan of elephants at the zoo!
As the mother of two young children, I value the presence of actual wildlife at the zoo. My kids are in love with elephants, and if they couldn't see them at a zoo, the chances of them ever seeing a live elephant would be slim to none. Because they can see them, smell them and hear them, they know what an elephant really is. I am raising my children to care about the environment and future habitats for all living creatures, and that actually means something to them when they can experience these animals up close and personal at the zoo.
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We moved to Portland last summer, and have visited the zoo many times since, and we bought a membership. We are in no position to travel the globe and see various species of wildlife, so for my wife, 5 year old son, and I the zoo is an important place to support. The elephants, along with orangutans, fruit bats, and lions, are favorites of my son's.
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I have lived in Portland forever and watched the zoo change for the better over the years. I worked at the zoo at the time of Samudra's birth and it was so exciting to watch the baby elephant grow and interact with his mom and aunties. I watched him one day while he was playing to the side of the fence when something in the grass spooked him, he ran off and cried his little elphant cry and his mom and all the aunties were there in seconds and surrounded him trumpeting and protecting him. When they were sure he was ok they went about what they were doing and Sam went back to playing in the same spot where he got spooked. It was only a matter of minutes before he was spooked again and the same scenereo unfolded again. This time the trainers brought him away from that spot and distracted him with something else to do. It was totally awesome to witness this first hand. I love the elephants so much I even went to the zoo in Columbus Ohio to see their baby elephant born a few months after our Sam was born. Elephants are such interesting and awesome creatures... if not for zoo's we could never witness such great animals. I have a membership where all my grandkids can go to the zoo at anytime and visit the animals and I go there often to photograph them.
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Thanks for sharing the story.
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I love the elephants at the Oregon Zoo. I remember falling in love with them when Packy was born. I was 6 years old. I loved them every since. It has been really great watching Sam grow. I do like the other animals at the zoo also with the polar bears and the otters a couple of other favorites behind the elephants.
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I love how thousands of people come every year to sing to Packy and watch him eat his giant birthday cake. It's kind of surreal to sing to an elephant and celebrate his birthday. It amazes me on a regular basis how commited the people of this region are to these elephants. Portland is definitely an elephant town. I'd like to see someone find a way to repaint the Packy mural (used to be in Old Town where Mercy Corps is now) before his 50th birthday next year!
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We love the Elephants at the Oregon Zoo. It is interesting to watch them grow and go through the stages of life. Our family has been going regularly (before my daughter was school age it was at least weekly) to the Oregon Zoo. She has grown up with a wonderful knowledge of the animals and of the need for conservation activities. Conversations with the naturalists, zoo keepers and zoo volunteers have helped her become comfortable (at the age of 7) with thinking about natural science concepts and asking questions that lead to real understanding.
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A visit to the zoo isn't complete without visiting the elephants. I have been to many zoos, and OZ has the happiest elephants I've experienced. Watching Sam grow has been an educational delight. The herd interactions are fascinating. Oh, and did I tell you my daughter volunteers each weekend? She's one of those bird handlers you'll meet out and about. I learn more through her than I ever would on my own.
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I consider the Oregon Zoo one of the greatest treasures in Portland. And the elephant herd at the zoo is one of its many gems. My fondest recent memory is of watching the baby elephant, Sam, play "soccer" with his keeper. It was easy to see that the elephant was very happy and engaged. And the keeper obviously enjoyed the interaction just as much. Clearly there is a strong bond between the two of them. I believe that bond and that type of activity are the reasons for the continued success of the elephant program at the zoo.
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I love going to the zoo. This past year I bought a membership and have been going every chance I get. Its fun to learn about the animals they have at the zoo (their names, where they came from etc.). My favorite at the zoo right now has to be Peggy the caracal.
When it comes to the elephants my favorite memory has to be from last spring break. My son and I went to the zoo and was asked to participate in hiding treats for the elephants throughout their outdoor area. Not only did we get to hide veggies everywhere but they had Shine out with her trainers while the kids ran around hiding the treats. When all was hidden they brought out the other females and Sam to find the treats. The kids where all behind the caged area so that they were safe but still got to watch the elephants.
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While I understand (and share) the concern many people have about keeping intelligent animals such as elephants in captivity, I also feel that the captive population is key to understanding these animals and preserving their species. In some cases (such as the Oregon Zoo's elephant Chendra), these animals are injured and would have died in the wild. Zoos are uniquely positioned to be able to bring these animals into the public eye. Zoo animals are ambassadors for their species. As an Oregon Zoo Guide, I've gotten to know a few of the zoo staff personally, and it's really clear that they have the best interest of the animals at heart. I really enjoy watching the elephants at the zoo, and learning about their different personalities. Paying a visit to the elephants and seeing how much Samudra has grown is one of the highlights of any zoo trip.
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It seems that there has been a lot of filming and scientific study done over the past 3 or 4 decades and a lot learned. I think that is good.
But I wonder if the "studiers" have thought to go back and ask the old people who have lived in those natural habitats what they know about the animals in their local areas. Usually the locals know an awful lot about animals because they had to learn to live safely among them and also their habits in order to hunt them for food. And the natives would have passed on stories of animal behaviors for hunting purposes and also as part of their local mythology-religions-legends.
And have the "studiers" looked into and searched the massive archives of the British and other Colonialists, because they were real big on filing reports on everything that was going on in the areas of their Empires?
The British Navy when they had an Empire had each ship record a weather report every four hours per day and now those very old reports are being digitized and used for historical data by the people who study climate change.
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Alright! Mike starts out with "the elephant in the room." Guy has a sense of humor.
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What do you call a baby elephant? A calf? Chick? Cub? Pup?
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you just call them "Baby elephants". Just that simple
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I remember going to see the Packy with my girl scout troop when I was little. I used to love to go to the zoo. Now I don't go at all. It saddens me to see how bored and confined all of the animals look. Zoos are good for rehabilitation or helping with conservation but I don't support them caging animals purely for human entertainment. Trainers and employees probably do have the animal's best interests at heart but it doesn't make living conditions for them any better in a small confined space. Many of these animals are meant to roam, migrate, etc and it's not okay with me they are stuck in a cage.
By the way, the music at the zoo in the summertime is awful. It's loud, right next to the animals and it probably drives them nuts. I won't go to those events anymore either.
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Sometimes the animals do get bored, just like some people get bored. Most of the time they are givin something to do, like finding food in hidden places. Some are just givin something to open or tear up. This is call Enrichment. Most of the zoo's have found that giving the animals something to do insures their survival and keeps them from being bored. Most of the animals that you see in the zoo now probably never lived in the wild. The zoo have breeding programs that keep wild animals were they belong, and we learn what the wild ones need from the ones we have. Sorry you don't like to go to the zoo, but if you decided to return you may see what I mean.
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Yes. I remember what a big deal it was. Thousands of people were there to see the guy.
I started being a volunteer in 1976. I noticed several things going on around the zoo.
First, the mothers were taking care of their offspring ( which was of course a big deal). The zoo was changing it's look too. The zoo wanted to be animal friendly. It wanted the public to know that it cared about it's animals, and the exhibits changed to accomodate that. More and more exhibits became easier for the animals to live in. It started to look more like the habitat that the animal originate from. The zoo itself didn't grow in size...but it grew in environmental production . More and more animals are breeding and living longer.
The zoo is now the best breeders for Asian Elephants . Packy has been the best ambassador for Asian male elephants that anyone knows of. i have seen Packy close up and know of his power.
The oregon Zoo is probably the best example of Wildlife and habitat conservation in the western US. And it will keep growing.
I have been a volunteer for about 35 years, and I will keep being a volunteer just because of the Oregon Zoo.
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Comments are now closed.
Ok, fellow posters, no monkeying around on this thread, I couldn't bear it. And don't just parrot someone else, come up with your own flights of fancy. And no snarky political comments about "the elephant in the room is ...". And nothing smells fishy here or is a red herring. Just pearls of wisdom. And let's forget for a moment about the Portland weather being cold and clammy.
Say, Sarah Jane, do Canadians really spell "elephants" as "elelphants?"
;)