Topeka Zoo gets remote video monitoring after death of Shannon the elephant

The Topeka Zoo will upgrade a closed-circuit camera system to allow it to remotely monitor animal activity at night after the death of a 35-year-old African elephant.

Zoo director Brendan Wiley responded to criticism from the group In Defense of Animals, which accused the zoo of negligence when the elephant, Shannon, spent several hours on the ground for two nights in a row before dying Dec. 11. The animal welfare group said zoo staff should have monitored the sick elephant more closely.

Wiley said the zoo thought Shannon had colic on Dec. 10 but that she was eating and acting normally when last checked about 8 p.m.

“We made a decision at that point to try to let her rest, to give her an uninterrupted night,” Wiley said. “When we’re in the building overnight they know. It disrupts their sleep.”

Reviewing the video the next morning, zookeepers discovered Shannon went down at 8:38 p.m. That prompted the decision to upgrade.

“By the end of the day today we will have 24-hour (remote) access” to the camera system,” Wiley said Wednesday.

A necropsy revealed the 5,500-pound Shannon had a number of abnormalities but nothing that would explain her death or why she went down. Further results are pending.

In Defense of Animals called on the Topeka Zoo to send its three remaining elephants to a sanctuary. Wiley said the group, which has been critical of the zoo’s elephant care in the past, is not familiar with its current program. The zoo now has one African elephant, 48-year-old Tembo, and two Asian elephants, 58-year-old Sunda and 59-year-old Cora. They are housed together.

“We have three very old elephants, but they get very good care and it is specifically focused on the needs of a geriatric elephant,” Wiley said.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Topeka Zoo gets remote video monitoring after death of Shannon the elephant."