Elderly animals get top care at zoos

INDIANAPOLIS – Tahtsa the polar bear is walking a little slower these days.

Cranky, always sleepy and constantly licking her feet – a sign that she’s feeling pain in her shoulders and legs – Tahtsa may be nearing death at the ripe old age of 33. Arthritis has settled into the bones of the 600-pound polar bear, the nation’s second-oldest in captivity. She’d probably be dead if she were in the wild, where the old and weak are often eaten or simply crawl away to die.

Instead, Tahtsa is one of about a dozen animals that are living past their prime in the back alleys of the Indianapolis Zoo – mostly outside the view of the general public and with special attention from a team of caregivers specializing in geriatrics.

Zoos across America are dealing with the challenges of a generation of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals too weak to keep up with their younger counterparts – think of a monkey falling from a tree and breaking an arm – but not old enough or sick enough to be euthanized. They suffer from arthritis, cancer, diabetes, blindness, hearing loss, dementia and forgetfulness. They are treated with painkillers, anti-fungals and anti-inflammatories.

“I think it’s a good idea as long as the animal does not become a throw-away animal,” said Les Schobert, a California-based animal rights consultant with 30 years’ experience in zoo operations. “You don’t just throw them in a pen and forget about them.”

Schobert runs a Web site – zooscandobetter.org – and is concerned primarily with the care of elephants. But his work as a consultant has given him insight to a growing issue involving every species and every zoo.

“Animals that age can have problems getting along with other animals,” he said. “The fact they are living longer exacerbates the problem today.”

Sometimes an ailment goes completely unnoticed until after an animal dies and a necropsy (an autopsy for animals) is completed.

In April, an 11-year-old male polar bear named Triton died unexpectedly at the Indianapolis Zoo of a twisting of the colon that cut off blood flow from his bowel. He had shown signs of distress by vomiting and had been treated in the on-site animal hospital.

A second bear, a Kodiak, died unexpectedly in June from a problem with widespread clotting. Ahkiok was 21, near the end of his life, and zoo officials are trying to determine what caused his illness.

Tahtsa has been on medication for arthritis since February 2007, and when she takes her medicine – soaked in honey mixed with peanut butter or stuffed into the gills of a fish – she does better. But sometimes she refuses, eating everything on her plate before spitting out the pill.

On the other side of the zoo, a handful of old ring-tailed lemurs spend their days in cages while AJ the giant tortoise rests comfortably in a nearby shady pasture designed just for him.

Welcome to the geriatric wing, where animals go for comfort and care.

The lemurs have short, treelike perches that are not far from a straw landing (better for the bones of falling primates). They get daily doses of medication for pain and inflammation.

AJ does not move as he used to and looks forward to a daily dose of fresh fruit – the one thing he still scampers to retrieve, according to his keepers.

Major Tom the llama is 22 years old and decided not long ago to simply stop eating. After a few weeks of an intravenous line and intensive therapy, he is now on a special diet and is walking a little and even grazing.

With dogs and cats being euthanized every day and thoroughbred horses being put down after an injury that keeps them from running, some wonder why zoos don’t simply euthanize animals that have seen better days.

It happens frequently – but not until the time is right.

“When the meds are not working, that is when it may be time to euthanize,” said Jenny Lienhart, a senior trainer for marine mammals at the zoo.

Paul Grayson, who oversees all the animals at the zoo, says euthanizing a sick animal is never an easy decision.

“We have emotional attachments to these animals,” Grayson said. “This is not a cold, business decision. These are members of our extended family.”