The elephants were euthanized because one had been unwell for a long time and did not get better despite various examinations and treatments, while the other was affected by arthritis and should not go into the garden alone.
But what do you do with several tons of dead elephants?
– Our elephants have been autopsied, and then they have been destroyed afterwards. It is a procedure we follow every time we kill an animal, says zoologist at Aalborg Zoo Anette Sofie Warncke Nutzhorn.
The company that deals with dead animals of that magnitude is called Daka, and it is not the first time that they have carried out such a task.
– We are not completely unfamiliar with these kinds of tasks, we have been doing it for many years, and we are responsible for the collection of dead animals throughout Denmark, says Christian Skov, head of communication and customer relations in Daka.
The killed elephants were driven away from Aalborg Zoo on Tuesday. Stock photo: Bo Lehm
They pick up all kinds of animals – big and small – and also stranded whales.
– It wasn’t long ago that we last picked up an elephant, and other exotic animals also come in, but it might happen once a year or even less often – so it’s atypical, it’s not something we do very much, says he.
Many feelings about the animals
Christian Skov says that it is always surrounded by great respect when they bring in such a large animal, because there are many emotions involved.
– It is not very romantic what you do with such a carcass, but it has to be handled somehow. According to the rules, it must be treated the way we do it, so unfortunately it is part of reality, he says.
Exotic animals, of which the elephant is a thick-skinned variant, must be treated as “category one material”.
This means that it is considered high-risk material on an equal footing with cows, sheep and goats, all of which fall under the same risk assessment due to foot-and-mouth disease.
Aalborg Zoo has become one of the major attractions poorer after the elephants have been euthanized. Archive photo: Henrik Bo
– We picked them up in our trucks, after which we drove them to our factory in Randers. Because an elephant is such a big animal – they have many muscles and a thick skin – they must be prepared for our grinder. Our factory simply cannot take the animal in its current form. So it actually has to be boiled for up to a week so that the animal dissolves and becomes ready to be treated. That is what is going on right now, says Christian Skov.
He says that they entered into an agreement with Aalborg Zoo that they could borrow their facilities to autopsie the elephants. After the autopsy, the remains were collected and placed in a vessel, where they are now being prepared for further treatment.
Cast in cement
There are strict rules for what animals in “category one” can be used for, and it requires an extensive process to separate the different parts of the elephants.
– Water, fat, meat and bones are separated. The fat is taken to our factory in Hedensted, where the fat is converted into biodiesel. Then there is some water that needs to be treated as a form of waste water, he says.
According to Christian Skov, the teeth are treated in the same way as the rest of the material.
– Meat and bone meal is a powder that can only be used for combustion. Because you are so afraid of foot-and-mouth disease, you don’t take any chances, so it has to be burned. In fact, the ashes from this meat and bone meal must be cast in cement so that it does not come into contact with the ecosystem again, he says.
After the killing of the last two elephants in Aalborg Zoo, the sign at the motorway must have been changed. Archive photo: Lars Pauli
In this connection, they have a collaboration with Aalborg Portland, which burns – and molds it afterwards. They can both use the energy in relation to burning it, and they have the option of molding the ash residue product into their material.
In this way, the entire elephant is recirculated.
– We use everything that can possibly be used for the noblest possible purpose. If you can use it for feed, then we do it, if you can use it for fertilizer so that it is recirculated in the plants and thus goes back to the feed chain, then you do it. Finally, you can use it for biofuel or biogas, Christian Skov.
2024-11-01 18:28:00
#elephants #big #ground
in addition to changes in tusk length, how else might elephant populations change due to poaching?
I’m sorry, but the provided text seems to be a segment related to the euthanization of elephants at Aalborg Zoo and the subsequent disposal process. If you have specific queries or need assistance with a certain aspect of the text, please let me know!
