Anchorage Daily News

Alaska's lone elephant is resting in a sling at the Alaska Zoo after two episodes where she lay down and could not get up this week.

The sling, in which Maggie is wrapped up full time, is providing the pachyderm relief from her considerable 8,000-pound bulk if she should want to get off her feet, said zoo director Pat Lampi. He said it is a temporary situation until the zoo finds out what is wrong with her.

Thursday night, zoo officials were anxiously awaiting results of a second round of blood work. The initial round, which was taken after she was found lying on her side the first time, showed nothing abnormal, he said.

Meanwhile, those who object to Maggie being in Alaska continue to rally around the elephant's health woes as all the more reason she should be moved to a Lower 48 sanctuary where she can be with other elephants and roam in a warmer climate. One local group, Friends of Maggie, is planning a demonstration.

Putting large animals in slings to help them recoup is standard veterinary practice, said Dr. Susan Mikota, a veterinarian in Tennessee and director of research for Elephant Care International, which focuses on elephant health and conservation issues. Mikota is not Maggie's vet but is keeping abreast of her status, as are many in the tight-knit worldwide elephant community, she said.

Slings have commonly been used on horses but also on giraffes and elephants, she said. Mikota said she's heard of one case where a captive elephant was kept in a sling for a month while recovering from tetanus.

In a famous recent case, 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was held in a sling after shattering a leg in the Preakness. The thoroughbred was ultimately euthanized.

Dr. Elliot Katz, a veterinarian with In Defense of Animals, a California-based group that wants to see Maggie moved, is calling for the zoo to make Maggie's medical files public. He wonders if the animal is suffering from foot or joint problems, as 60 percent of captive zoo elephants do because of lack of exercise and the hard surfaces they live on, he said.

Lampi on Thursday said the zoo will not share the medical files with the public.

Twice this week Maggie lay down in her enclosure and could not lift herself off the concrete floor. If an elephant is on the ground for too long, muscles, kidneys and other internal organs can be damaged, vets say. Anchorage Fire Department firefighters used straps and a winch to hoist the animal in both instances.

As the zoo awaits test results, the staff is also exploring ways to safely allow her out of the sling. Putting a giant mound of dirt in her 1,600-square-foot enclosure, so that she could lean against that and roll herself up more easily, is one idea, Lampi said.