Ms. Watkins,
I politely attempted to answer your false accusations yesterday. To be specific to your questions below, 1) yes, the Star Telegram reported this information accurately. 2) No, Rasha has never had a calf that was euthanized, her calf is Bluebonnet and you may visit her at the Zoo. 3) No, this statement has no accuracies to it at all. I hope this answers your questions as I do not intend to discuss these false allegations any further.
M. Fouraker
Mr. Fouraker -
Yesterday you succeeded in "politely" answering one of the accusations made on your elephant breeding program. Today you answered the other three. I appreciate your time, as do others. Sounds like this was an inconvenience for you. It always amazes me when persons of authority, especially "Executives" don't want to really invest much time in answering direct questions and/or get a bit "testy" when those questions concern their organizational practices. Hopefully the few minutes that you spent in answering these disturbing accusations hasn't disrupted any operations of the Zoo. I will remember your comments and attitude in my conversations about the Ft. Worth Zoo from this day forward as I feel that being you are the "Executive Director of the Fort Worth Zoo," you should be more than willing and happy to put to rest false accusations regardless of the minutes that it takes of your precious time. It's part of your job as Executive Director!
Not so respectfully,
Suzette,
I am so sorry for taking so long to respond to your email. Thanks very much for continuing to correspond with Mr. Fouraker and for forwarding this response to us.
I am stunned that he is denying that in 2003, Rasha had a calf who was born prematurely and subsequently euthanized. Please see the article I copied below titled “Premature elephant calf is euthanized.” Mr. Fouraker was director of the zoo at that time so it’s hard to believe that he could have forgotten that tragic event.
Re: the elephant who lost three calves in six years. PETA got this information from
Lisa Wathne Captive Exotic Animal Specialist
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals PETA.org
Circuses.com
ARTICLE FROM STAR-TELEGRAM
Posted on Tue, Sep. 23, 2003
Premature elephant calf is euthanized By Chris Vaughn Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - All seemed to be going well with Rasha's much-ballyhooed pregnancy, virtually a repeat of five years ago when she gave birth to Bluebonnet.
But Rasha, a 30-year-old Asian elephant at the Fort Worth Zoo, went into labor Friday morning, 16 months into her pregnancy and six months before her due date.
Rasha's calf, which received round-the-clock care in a makeshift ICU this weekend, was euthanized Sunday evening by veterinarians who decided that she could not survive.
"As a group of veterinarians, we were confident in our medical decision," said Nancy Lung, the zoo's chief veterinarian. "For all the other reasons, it made it difficult to euthanize. It's easy to get attached very quickly."
The death of the calf, the second failed pregnancy of an Asian elephant at the zoo in the last 18 months, again highlighted the difficulties of breeding in captivity. Babe, one of the zoo's four adult cows, gave birth to a stillborn calf in March 2002.
No Asian elephants were born in 2002 or have been born this year at institutions accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, a birth rate so slow that it threatens the viability of the species in captivity, according to zoo experts.
Robert Wiese, director of animal collections, estimated that if the birth rate continues, there will be only 13 female elephants in U.S. zoos in 50 years. Breeding success among African elephants is even lower.
"Thirty years ago, if we needed more elephants we just went to India and got them," said Ron Surratt, mammal curator at the zoo. "We don't like to do that anymore. We're trying to be self-sustaining."
Some animal groups oppose elephant breeding programs, but Fort Worth Zoo Director Michael Fouraker, who is a leader in the International Elephant Foundation, said that the zoo's efforts will continue.
"The Fort Worth Zoo has had Asian elephants for over 70 years. We've been breeding for only eight years," Fouraker said. "So we're not discouraged."
Despite the problems this weekend, Rasha is fine and out on exhibit, showing no signs of physical or maternal separation problems, Surratt and Lung said.
Rasha's keepers had detected falling progesterone levels about a week ago, a sign that labor is imminent. Because her body did the same with Bluebonnet, it wasn't expected to be a problem.
But Rasha surprised everyone by delivering her calf Friday morning. Even more surprising, the calf was alive.
"We couldn't believe when we saw her blink," Lung said.
The calf weighed 150 pounds, 100 pounds lighter than a full-term calf, and it was apparent that her organs, immune system and bones weren't fully developed. The human equivalent would be a baby born at 28-29 weeks.
Lung and the zoo's two other veterinarians consulted with doctors at Texas A&M University and brought in a prominent neonatal equine expert, Pamela Wilkins from the University of Pennsylvania.
Never had any zoo had a chance to save a 6-month premature elephant calf. But the problems were too many, Wilkins said.
"She responded to our treatments for individual problems," Wilkins said. "But her prematurity and the infection and the other problems collectively became a much bigger issue than any of the problems were individually."
Samples of her tissues and organs that were collected from a necropsy will be sent to researchers around the nation. Lung said her staff hopes, through tests on Rasha's placenta, to determine what triggered the early labor.
"We need to because we would like to breed her again," she said. "We may be able to prevent it next time."
Chris Vaughn, (817) 390-7547 cvaughn@star-telegram.com
