Three rare monkeys that had recently been moved to a different exhibit at Lincoln Park Zoo died this week, the latest in a spate of animal deaths that have rattled the venerable facility.
Zoo President Kevin Bell offered to quit, saying the monkey deaths will bring new scrutiny to the zoo and his leadership, but the board’s chairman refused to accept Bell’s resignation.
Zoo officials announced the monkey deaths Thursday and said they have asked the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) to conduct a thorough review of the zoo’s practices.
In a letter to zoo staff members, Bell said he offered his resignation Wednesday afternoon because he was concerned that questions about the effectiveness of his leadership “will be a cloud overshadowing” the good work staff members are doing.
But the zoo’s board chairman, Jay Proops, said that Bell will remain the zoo’s leader at least until the AZA study is complete.
“We’ve had a rash of animal deaths that we all feel very, very bad about, and we’re committed to finding out what’s going on,” Proops said. But, he said, “it would be a tragedy to lose [Bell’s] leadership unless there are some factual reasons.”
Proops said he contacted all but one member of the zoo’s executive committee, and all said Bell should remain.
Several board members contacted by the Tribune Thursday said they support Bell, calling him a committed leader.
Bell, who has served as director of the zoo since 1993 and earns $310,000 a year, was already under scrutiny from animal rights organizations because of the deaths of three elephants and a camel.
In his letter to staff members, Bell wrote that the zoo was preparing Thursday to release necropsy results on Wankie, a 35-year-old elephant that had to be euthanized May 1 after it fell ill while being transported to a zoo in Salt Lake City.
Bell, wrote that the results “would reinforce our position that sound management decisions were made throughout this process.”
But after the first two Francois langur monkeys died this week, he decided to hold off at least a day. He said the death of the langurs “will be harder for the public to understand.”
Just what caused the three langurs to die was not immediately clear, although a statement released by the zoo said there is a “strong suspicion” among zoo experts that the deaths were “connected to a change of exhibit.”
Zoo spokeswoman Kelly McGrath said the zoo’s four langurs were transferred within the primate house about two weeks ago and put into the gibbon exhibit outdoors.
“They had never lived there before,” McGrath said. “We wanted them to have access to the outdoors for a while.”
1st death on Tuesday
At about 4 p.m. Tuesday, a zoo worker found a 7-year-old female langur dead in the exhibit, she said. A 12-year-old male langur was then found dead early Wednesday. The third langur seemed fine early Thursday, then suddenly collapsed and died later that day, McGrath said.
Test results could take weeks. The zoo’s fourth langur appeared fine Thursday.
Francois langurs are native to southern China and Vietnam and are endangered with fewer than 2,500 remaining in the wild.
The string of zoo deaths started Oct. 16, when Tatima, a 35-year-old elephant, succumbed to a rare lung disease. The death sparked protests from animal rights groups, which had argued that Tatima and two other elephants in the zoo’s exhibit should never have been transferred from the San Diego Zoo to cold-weather Chicago.
The campaign intensified after Peaches, 55, died Jan. 17. Wankie, the last of the zoo’s elephants, died less than two weeks ago, prompting Bell to ask for a long-term scientific study on whether it is harmful to keep animals in cold-climate zoos.
Mumbalie, a 7-year-old gorilla, was put down April 28, despite transfusions and dialysis.
Zoo officials said a camel died in December, prompting an anonymous complaint to the USDA. Documents show the USDA came to examine the camel facility after receiving the complaint and found the zoo needed additional shelter in the camel yard.
McGrath said the USDA did not find that the lack of shelter contributed to the camel’s death, which zoo officials believe was the result of a gastrointestinal disease. McGrath pointed out that Bactrian camels live in Mongolia, where temperatures often dip below winter readings in Chicago.
USDA spokeswoman Amy Spillman said only that “we’re looking at deaths of animals at Lincoln Park Zoo.” Spillman said she could not provide details of that investigation.
More Top Picks Jabra Elite 10
Wayne Parcelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said it was not immediately clear what has caused all the animal deaths.
Bad luck or bad decisions
“It speaks to a chain of events that are either awfully bad luck or bad decisions and bad management,” he said. “It’s one of the two.”
Proops said that is exactly what the AZA study should determine.
“We need to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “If corrective actions are to be taken, we will do that.”
Bill Foster, president of the AZA and director of the Birmingham Zoo, said he has already been on the phone to zoo and animal experts, hoping to have a team in place soon.
“Is it a bad run of luck, circumstances, whatever you want to say? I think it is,” Foster said. Still, he said, the timing of the deaths does raise questions.
Proops said the AZA’s findings would be made public but stopped short of saying the entire study would be released when it is complete.
PETA seeks independent audit
Debbie Leahy, director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ captive animals and entertainment issues division, said her group does not hold much faith in the AZA’s report because it is not truly an independent audit.
“I’ve never heard of another zoo having this many animal deaths in such a short period of time,” Leahy said. “Mr. Bell should resign. We need a new director at Lincoln Park Zoo who’s going to work with, not against, animal protection groups.”
Several zoo board members were quick to defend Bell.
“I have the utmost faith in Kevin,” said director Andrew J. Filipowski. “I would presume we would all listen to the assessment and conclusions of all the work that is being done.”
Lester Fisher, who served as the zoo’s director from 1962 to 1991 and worked with Bell, said the animal deaths “are not a reflection, in my judgment, of his professional ability.”
“I just grieve for the zoo, with all they are going through,” Fisher said. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks.”
Board director Myra Reilly said she “absolutely” had confidence in Bell. She said she and other board members are waiting for all the studies and test results to be completed.
“We all have total confidence in the way the zoo is run,” she said. “It has a record of excellence, and Kevin has done an amazing job.”
———-