Sanctuary for the Toronto Zoo elephants - the fifth estate

the fifth estate returns to the Performing Animals Welfare Sanctuary in California to find out what became of the elephants from the Toronto Zoo whose journey Bob McKeown first chronicled in “Elephants on Board”. PAWS President Ed Stewart has spent years engineering their integration into the resident herd of African elephants, and it seems he might finally have succeeded.
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About the fifth estate : For four decades the fifth estate has been Canada's premier investigative documentary program. Hosts Bob McKeown, Gillian Findlay and Mark Kelley continue a tradition of provocative and fearless journalism. the fifth estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians - delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.

[@milhouse901]

I remember seeing the Toronto zoo elephants as a kid, and I was sad when they were gone, but I'm very glad they're in a happier place now

[@TeresaPretorius]

With so much gratefulness that I'm watching this!!❤❤For these gentle majestic elephants to be free and save and for everyone's dedication and love giving them this life❤❤❤❤

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I Love the way the existing elephants greet the new elephants...

[@sarahholland1375]

So amazing to see them roam free as they were meant to. Poor Tika struggling with relearning how to be an elephant. She'll get there.

[@PAWSWEB]

Today, October 20, 2018, five years after the elephants' arrival at PAWS, Toka spends her days immersed in nature, foraging throughout the day on grass, trees and other fresh vegetation. She loves being close to elephant friends Lulu and Maggie, as the group moves together throughout their habitat. If there is one thing Toka adores, it’s a good mud bath. She can often be found stomping, splashing and rolling in the mud, which serves to protect her skin from insects and the sun. Toka’s caregivers report that she is relaxed and calm during husbandry care and training, and that bananas send her into a blissful state as she savors this special treat. Some people think that all elephants get along because they are a social species, but this isn’t always the case. Female elephants naturally would only live with their mothers, daughters, other female family members and their offspring - and not with unrelated elephants. In captivity, elephants are haphazardly brought together. Not only are they not from the same family, they aren’t even from the same locale. Home countries for the African elephants at PAWS include Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa. At PAWS we let the elephants tell us what social situation works best for them. Their individual life histories generally dictate these choices. For example, an in-depth story by Toronto Life magazine (2010) on the elephants at the zoo reported that “Thika, despite being more than a decade younger than the other two [Toka and Iringa], had taken over as matriarch, and she was using her new-found power to antagonize Toka.” The keepers tried to teach the two to get along by “forcing them to spend time with one another in short ‘compatibility sessions.’” These days Thika (the only captive born elephant among the Africans) spends her time with long-time PAWS resident Mara. She can often be seen following Mara around like a little sister follows a big sister. Toka is most relaxed with Maggie and Lulu and is never far from them. PAWS’ first priority is always the health and welfare of our animals. By closely monitoring the elephants’ behaviors and honoring their choices, they have the most stress-free and comfortable lives possible - which is how it should be.

[@taylorc146]

PAWSWEB loved reading this. Thank you for taking care of these gorgeous girls

[@anilajacob8861]

Thank you

[@TeaSong1]

That’s Fantastic But There’s Just One Problem Tuberculosis

[@TheNiquenique]

Thanks for all the great work you guys do for these amazing creatures that we should protect! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@roytard12]

YOUR ELEPHANT BARN LITERALLY HAS CONCRETE FLOORING! IT SHOULD BE SAND!

[@suddenlystupid]

There are special people called to do this kind of work and I like to think GOD did the calling. Thank all of you who take care of the needs of these special animals.

[@LesPaul-MorePaul]

I saw these elephants at the Metro Zoo, they were magnificent. I'm glad they are in a bigger area to wander.

[@barbarakinard2769]

Thanks for all you all do ..I can only wish.thanks

[@michellemcgee8900]

Setting the Captives free! All remaining elephants in captivity need to be sent to sanctuaries like this! God bless you! Lets pray the remaining- especially for me Lucy in Edmonton Canada be given over, surrendered. Its a cold cold prison cell for her all alone!💝💝🎋🎋🎋🎋😊😊😢

[@lunaluck1060]

I hope Lucy gets a chance to live life in an area suitable for an Elephant like the sanctuary in this vid. She's getting old and soon she really won't be able to travel. She's earned her retirement and so much more. This makes me ashamed of my country.

[@lindaslider]

@@lunaluck1060 I feel the same way it is 2021 and Lucy is still here, suffering each day it is a disgrace

[@christineaygin6701]

@@lindaslider are there any local people protesting outside the zoo or such like,? I remember seeing lots regularly protesting for the killer whale Tilikum in Florida

[@lindaslider]

@@christineaygin6701 someone has tried I know but the city of edmonton and the zoo say she is too far gone and will die if moved. excuses is their reply.

[@lindaslider]

@@christineaygin6701 I am open to suggestions on any organization that helps elephants like Lucy I will stand and help get her out of there

[@danashuter5406]

I would love to see more about the Toronto elephants. We are so happy that they are in a happier place. Please keep us updated. Maybe you could have a video feed directly to the TO Zoo so visitors could watch D

[@suzystone244]

Elephants speak over 250 languages. Most being silent. The lowest decibel cannot be heard by the human ear. An Elephant can. They feel magnetic pull from the Earth as well, hence migration patterns established. Social gatherings at waterholes. Feeding in stands of trees.

[@Elysiaspalace]

that is just awful! I was happy to hear that I'm Brownsville tx, where I am from, they removed the elephants due to their area being too small! it sucks not being able to see them, but I was very happy to hear they are taking precautions and actually watching out for these things. a animal physician stated it would mess with their mental health and cause things such as fights, depression... etc... if they stayed in their environment... I hate seeing things such as this... animals being held captive and not happy... some can be, but you have certain things that must be done so they can be happy... I am happy to see those who are rescued... but nice pray everyday for the animals in need... and I pray god bless the people who are willing to help these beautiful creatures... I thank him for every animal that is rescued, saved and helped. I pray for all those animals on need... ); help an animal if you see one in need, report neglect and abuse, if you don't, you're just as big of a problem as the people who inflict this awful, disgusting pain and sorrow.... God knows your heart and no one ever got or felt poorer by helping someone or something...

[@velvetindigonight]

Love this! Made my morning :) Well done guys……….. Patience is a virtue………..: sound lesson. Thank you All and for sharing x

[@katelinishere1484]

Wow what a cool sanctuary

[@marianneritavanvliet4554]

Wonderful story and very amazing heroes from the Toronto Zoo

[@jennifermiller7813]

Thank you for what you do. A lot of patience and love you have

[@kriss1956]

God I love elephants! That final introduction, "Oh hey, you got over the fence, we're gettin corn".

[@popismommyme340]

I pray that God bless you all! 🙏 Thank you.

[@barbaramadden259]

Thank you for reminding me. So wonderful.

[@Lelliott1122]

I totally love my beloved elephants❤️

[@chainsawkitten3766]

We have an elephant sanctuary in the US, I think it’s in Tennessee. Philadelphia Zoo sent some of its elephants there, and there are circus elephants there as well. Its much bigger and more lush than this, with lots of trees and lakes. But anything is better than a zoo.

[@sheilawells3706]

People need to be educated!!

[@geraldinebraxton8466]

I hope Lucy the Elephant in Edmonton can go to a great place too.

[@taylorc146]

Geraldine Braxton same!

[@gargwinvinesnake6961]

Every passing year it seems so unlikely

[@roroguapo3]

STOP PUTTING ELEPHANTS IN ZOOS!!

[@madden8021]

And circuses

[@atticusvilly888]

Yes👍🏻 we need to rethink why we keep wildlife captive!

[@brendatenorio5721]

Fabulous and heartwarming achievement.

[@kimberlypotts516]

God bless them all thank you Jesus love this and keep rescuing

[@thomasmiller1960]

please rescue Lucy. she is still in Edmonton zoo, Canada

[@allmine853]

agreed. she is there alone and in a small enclosure. She seems so sad and broken. please please come and get her

[@snowbird7614]

Rescue lucy

[@deborahlongest6744]

Is. She alone? Need to publici her plight!!

[@Elephant-Puppet]

Write that to PETA Then

[@19483525]

So happy!

[@Nitka022]

amazing! Thank you for this story....:-)

[@aimeefriedman822]

OMG! FANTASTIC!

[@patsheppard2616]

Hearing all that noise was surprising. What a welcome.

[@flyinghigh5986]

they are beautiful 😘😘😘😘😘

[@donnaeckhardt6960]

Toka lost her best friend. I hope Teeka has a good day.

[@lynnclark4208]

So this is 2020. How are things going now? Would love an update. Lynn

[@TheAmberlion]

Love this. 🍁💞🍁💞🍁💞🍁

[@akissfantos7224]

LOVE TO ALL OF YOU

[@vishalraval6262]

Zoo should b like this... with a big space then only animals can b happy

[@Julie-gx8ju]

GO TORONTO ZOO! LOVE FROM U.S.A.

[@judithcampbell3354]

Is something wrong with Thika? The other elephants move away from her. Even the matriarch. Hope she is healthy! Thank You Paws for taking such good care of all the old elephants!

[@eksine]

@wamy49 people can't be bothered to listen they just want you to spoon-feed them the answers

[@AnnePerry-v1j]

Awesome Human Beings ❤❤❤❤

[@lindaslider]

we have an elephant at the zoo named Lucy she is owned by the city of edmonton and has been living in a cement enclosure by herself for 40 years, she has nowhere to swim gets hosed down and has no companions it snows here in winter, this is a disgrace can anyone help Lucy get out of here? we are in Canada

[@snowbird7614]

Write the WWF. I just did for other abused elephants

[@donnaeckhardt6960]

Goodbye Toronto. Hallo San Diego Zoo--SANCTUARY!!

[@evacaraballo2647]

Love it 😍 beautiful

[@princessbuttercup8954]

No animal should live in a cage for human entertainment!

[@kirstenjones1825]

God created elephants to landscape and replenish our earth and love 💘

[@evameier5387]

Thank You! 3519 for Animals, might end their traumas. 7372 on mother Earth.

[@babaib3513]

Thank u god bless ugood souls

[@GhostofHistorysPast]

Should be taken them to the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.

[@cacatr4495]

PAWS in Cali is warmer.

[@donnaeckhardt6960]

Teeka has a nice name. I have a cousin name Watika.

[@Babydux]

They need a herd... Not meant to be alone!

[@samchandlerllc5104]

I'm not crying... you're crying

[@Specogecko]

I’d love for the AZA to work with facilities like this when it comes to great apes, cetaceans, and elephant

[@lindaslider]

elephants are not meant to be in captivity, a sanctuary sure but the climate has everything to do with elephants, for them to live where it snows is ridiculous for humans to assume this is ok. they need exercise and to swim, they are supposed to walk kms. a day it is common sense.there should not be elephants at the toronto zoo, its to cold there, the climate is wrong for elephants.

[@rozecosta6467]

Ps elefantes sao maravilhosos lindos

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I’m surprised more of them don’t have severe anxiety from jump.

[@miniaturewombatblizzard5284]

They used to have a circus in Rabobank Arena but now they are all retired

[@aliciacabrera-thomas9705]

LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE

[@DavidLS1]

Imagine trying to break up an elephant fight.

[@xaoskuntablast3354]

Stumbled across this video . I would have pooped my pants

[@TlanImass]

Looks like Thika has Matriarch potential.

[@kirstenjones1825]

Yea for elephants 🐘

[@bestotom4068]

Our God is an awesome God.✝✝✡✡🎇🎇🎆🎆🙏🙏💥💥

[@kerryowen-holmes3719]

Very interesting 😊🇦🇺

[@tamarapopovic2173]

❤❤❤❤

[@julieduree9210]

Is there a pool or pond outside?

[@JackieShaughnessy-o1o]

❤

[@Automedon2]

The narrator is like a caricature of a narrator.

[@keepwildinthewild]

🐘🐘🐘🐘❤❤❤❤

[@inekev6566]

How is Lucy now? Where is she

[@bigbiemacaw]

Such build up something never done before, when I already knew about Maggie

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

So much like us...unpredictable.

[@2dasimmons]

Is something wrong with TIKA?. There is some reason the other elephants especially MATRIARCH move away from her when she comes near.

[@jackycook64]

2dasimmons Unfortunately, you are watching one of issues of captivity. She doesn't know how to socialize and how to be an elephant. Also, being confined in such a small area for so long led to aggression towards each other which would have added to her fear that she might be attacked and injured. The care team at the sanctuary did an excellent job of integrating her. They allowed her to go at her own pace and did not force them to remain together when it was clear she needed more time. This gave her the time she needed to learn how to be an elephant. And it also helped her build confidence, trust, and security. It appears that they are bonded and doing well now.

[@krzchriscraft3914]

what hapind to Patssi the elephent

[@TravelNut72]

the one thing that is not normal in this habitat is the extreme hills. In normal African setting Elephants never ever have to climb hills all the time. I wonder if this is a negative ?

[@inekev6566]

Pleace help Lucy

[@soniadowney7427]

Iranga died?

[@latuliamtv3812]

Sadly yes 😞

[@bugsea54]

Disturbing ! Leave the elephants alone!

[@hildamorrison2003]

I àm looking for a man named Mark Grant ... he lives in Toronto ... Is there ànyone there who knows him? It's important that I find him.

[@okpunky]

Hilda Morrison Toronto is a very big city. Good luck. Hope you find him

[@rahulrathod-vx6yv]

Place

[@barbaradyson6951]

er i thought he said tiaka died and it was maggie that was born in captivity and that is was maggie that didn;t really intergrate

[@missymason2377]

Are these zoo safe....

[@crossovertrainfan8345]

The Toronto zoo sucked at keeping elephants

[@autodidact2499]

At 1:45: Elephants are the world's largest land animal, not "the largest [sic] animals on earth"; the blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on land or in the oceans. At 2:20: Elephants kill other elephants "in the wild"; rarely, perhaps, but it happens.

[@eksine]

Good thing you said it, was thinking the same

[@annebell7274]

💟🌹💟🌹💟🌹💟

[@theaquaking4020]

2:55 optimus prime???

[@johnwhite5306]

I got a feeling those elephants were accustomed to each other long before the film crew showed back up but like always shows like that got to create drama.

[@johnperrigo6474]

I'm ok with that. Good to hear the story of how it worked out.

[@bhagwaishanirmalj0shi2]

nirmaljoshi

[@eksine]

Any and all orifices? Ok

[@Dylan-Hooton]

Will there be male African elephants in this sanctuary so they could breed in California?

[@fairybits]

Let us hope not. They truly only belonged in the wild,not even in a sanctuary. Though considering zoos,Sanctuaries are better for them.

[@annabor1000]

No they definitely won't breed them. If they have male Africans they would keep them separate.

[@natebennett7763]

At this sanctuary there is only old elephants

[@diannshoemaker6419]

Uh

[@cherylclare964]

😄😄😄😄😄

[@denisemontgomery5600]

A tub to swim????? OUTRAGEOUS! DOWN VOTE PLEASE!!!! 👎👎👎👎👎

[@PAWSWEB]

Thika swimming in the "lake" in the African elephants' habitat. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWTSfK2lht58e8k

[@Richard_K1630]

Wonderful story but just keep that tattooed terror away from this.

[@dimidomo7946]

How can management of this place keep elephants in a steep hilly environment. This sanctuary does not in any way resemble the flat plains or endless savannah of Africa. Their philosophy about elephant habitat is second grade. The sanctuary is an excellent idea but the terrain, from what we've been shown, remains questionable.

[@denisemontgomery5600]

Corn is the only food you give them? Where are their mud baths and lakes to swim? A narrow, indoor concrete pool is ridiculous for elephants. Come on, you can do better than that!! Look at The Elephant Sanctuary and David Sheldricks (Trust) sanctuary operations and see the real comfort they provide to their elephants. It's wonderful what you're doing but there are many improvements yet to be made.🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 How much money does the government give you to subsidize the caring of these elephants?

[@ALN-ns4kw]

DENISE MONTGOMERY I think they have a lot more property then shown, they have 2000 acres and they even say in the video the elephant enclosure is 90 Acres. California is a very different environment then Tennessee, much drier and less trees hence why they don’t have outdoor ponds perhaps and for sure why it looks a lot drier and there’s few trees.

[@eksine]

They gave them corn once. Didn't you see them eat grass?? Think before you talk

[@cricketsmith368]

Sad that the use of God's name in vain (19 seconds & 1.57 in) was NOT bleeped out! Other than that this was so very informative & enjoyable to view. Thank you, most sincerely!

[@hallowedflag3373]

I'm with you cricket! If you want to hold my attention don't take Gods name in vain.

[@cacatr4495]

except that's not His Name. "God" is a title, not His personal Name.

[@gerhardtmuller7439]

i went there. didn't enjoy it

[@bhagwaishanirmalj0shi2]

nirmaljoshi