Some members of the Riga City Council promised to bring elephants back to Riga. But is this realistic? This question was posed by the publication Latvijas Avīze.
Without delving into the discussion of where to get an elephant and how much it will eat, it is worth looking at what the requirements of civilized countries are for keeping these animals.
Latvia is not India, where an elephant can be chained to a post as a living exhibit. The keeping of elephants in zoos in the European Union is regulated both by the general legislation of the bloc and by specific industry rules, which have tightened significantly in recent years.
"The elephant house, built in 1912 on donations, was very modern for its time," said zoo representative Maris Lielkalns.
However, people's understanding and attitudes have changed, and less than a century later it became clear that the conditions in Riga are not suitable for elephants. Therefore, in 2003, the last Riga elephants were transferred to the Netherlands.
The idea of bringing elephants back to Riga is not new; at the beginning of this century, there was even a joint project with "Latvijas Mobilais telefons," but the 2008 crisis forced the postponement of this plan. Since then, technical conditions have changed, costs have risen, and animal welfare requirements have become even stricter, so everything would have to be recalculated and planned anew. In the development plan presented in 2022, elephants were no longer included.
"Elephants need large spaces both in winter and summer, including indoors," says Lielkalns. "Previously, the elephant house was planned where the deer live, where the Himalayan exhibit will be located. But is there currently room for the largest land animals? The question is whether there will be space for anything else."
The area of the zoo is just under 20 hectares, of which sixteen are inhabited. Elephants need several hectares, so ideally a third or even half of the zoo would be occupied solely by elephants. They are social herd animals, so one individual would not be enough.
