Elephant Journey: The True Story of Three Zoo Elephants and Their Rescue from Captivity by Rob Laidlaw (review)

When three elephants at the Toronto Zoo—two born in the wild and one in captivity—showed signs of physical distress in their relatively cramped and cold surroundings, animal welfare advocates urged the zoo to relocate them to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in California. The journey itself, however, was not without risk, and customized cages were devised to transport the animals on flatbed trucks from Toronto to the West Coast. Startled border crossing agents and overheated brakes caused some delays, but the elephants arrived safely and seemed to take amiable interest in other elephant residents, with whom Laidlaw hopes they will one day be allowed to mingle. Deines’ oil paintings cast a gauzy haze over the proceedings, making it a somewhat difficult for children interested in technical aspects of the transport to catch the visual details, but snapshot-style photographs accompanying end matter mitigate that problem. Laidlaw’s lengthy endnote expands the account but never explains why some zoo staff were reluctant to send the elephants to PAWS, or why the Toronto Zoo elephants have not been allowed to come into contact with the other elephants for the two years they have been at the site. Although three particular elephants are the focus here, Laidlaw’s implicit critique of confining animals in inhospitable habitats will promote thoughtful discussion between zoo lovers and skeptics. An index is included.