By Deb Vanasse

When it comes to Alaskan animals, most people don’t think of elephants. But for nearly twenty-five years children flocked to the Alaska Zoo to visit Maggie, Alaska’s only elephant.

Zookeepers brought baby Maggie to Alaska as a companion for Annabelle, the zoo’s first African elephant. Maggie grew up with Annabelle at her side, but when the older elephant died in 1997, Maggie was alone.

Maggie seemed to love her caretakers and the children who came to visit, but some people wondered if Alaska was the right place for an elephant. Cold winters kept Maggie indoors, and she had no other elephants to keep her company.

Zookeepers struggled to keep Maggie happy. They suspended her hay so she had the challenge of working for her food. They even designed a one-of-a-kind elephant treadmill so Maggie could exercise when it was cold outside.

Still, Maggie was lonely. Some said she was depressed. People from all over the country expressed concern, especially when Maggie collapsed one day and couldn’t get up. Paramedics used a crane to get the 8000-pound elephant back on her feet, but what if it happened again?

Television celebrity Bob Barker flew to Alaska on behalf of PAWS, the Performing Animals Welfare Society. He extended an offer from PAWS to fly Maggie to California where she could roam a 100-acre preserve with other elephants.

The zoo accepted, and after months of training, Maggie strolled into an 18-foot cargo container. A flatbed truck rolled Maggie away from the Alaska Zoo and onto an Air Force cargo jet for the flight south. “Operation Maggie Migration” was underway.

It didn’t take Maggie long to adjust to her new home. Now she spends her days with four other African elephants. She still delights children from all over the world, but now she does it by web cam. You can visit Maggie at www.pawsweb.org.

 

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