Treadmill Time For Pudgy Pachyderm
It's not easy being a pudgy pachyderm.
Everyone — from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to the U.S. Department of Agriculture — seems to want to weigh in with opinions on trimming Maggie the elephant's waistline.
Soon Maggie may not need the advice. Keepers at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, where Maggie lives, are preparing to install the world's first elephant exercise treadmill.
"All I know is it seems like a good idea to get a sedentary animal moving," said Sid Cannon, the vice president of Boise, Idaho-based Conveyor Engineering, a company that designs heavy-duty conveyor systems used in mining and has offered to build Maggie's treadmill.
"I figured that we put rocks on our conveyors that are as big as an elephant, and a treadmill is basically a conveyor, so building one would be no big deal."
It has turned out not to be that easy.
In the wild, African elephants stay on the move about 16 hours a day foraging for food and water. But Maggie, like all zoo elephants, is confined and alone. The cold Alaska winters keep her indoors part of the year.
That's got some animal advocates pushing to have Maggie retired to a sanctuary or moved to a zoo in a warmer climate.
"There's no comparison to a treadmill versus life in the wild or in a sanctuary," said Nicole Meyer, an elephant specialist with PETA. "Female elephants are highly social and to keep them in solitary confinement is completely cruel."
John Seawall, who heads up the elephant habitat at the Alaska Zoo, hopes the treadmill will stem some criticism.
"She could stand to lose a couple of hundred pounds, but out of a weight of 9,200 pounds it's somewhat insignificant," he said.
Cannon first heard about the search to make the elephant treadmill while watching the evening news. He called up Seawall and offered the services of Conveyor Engineering — for free.
"We do a little community service, but rarely have the opportunity to help people with our work," he said. "Little did we know that this is a controversial thing."
Animal treadmills are nothing new — the exercise wheel is standard equipment for pet mice. Some veterinarians use partially submerged, aquatic therapy treadmills to help injured dogs regain mobility. There also are high-speed treadmills for race horses and even treadmills for race camels.
Expected to be installed sometime this summer, the treadmill will be just over 20 feet long and five feet wide. Elephants walk by simultaneously moving two legs at a time along a path only about 18 inches wide, so the machine has to be able to withstand concentrated weight.
Of course, training an elephant to walk on it is another matter. Seawall plans to install the machine in the pathway between Maggie's indoor barn and the rest of her outdoor habitat area. They will give her some time to get used to the presence of the machine before turning it on.
Cannon, meanwhile, said he's enjoyed working on the treadmill but doesn't plan to make any more.
"Mining is controversial enough," he said.
By Rebecca Boone