Elephant Treadmill
A 16,000-pound treadmill specifically built to exercise Maggie the elephant arrived at the Alaska Zoo, but the question remains: Just how do you get a more than 4-ton animal fighting the battle of the bulge to use a treadmill?
Zoo director Tex Edwards is optimistic she can do it.
“Every time we’ve undertaken to teach Maggie something new she has always learned it faster than we anticipated,” Edwards said Tuesday. “She seems to enjoy new challenges.”
The 20-foot-long by 8-foot-wide treadmill was built by Conveyor Engineering, an Idaho-based company that designs heavy-duty conveyor systems for mining. Automatic Welding in Anchorage put the treadmill together, believed to be the first one built specifically for an elephant.
“They have built them for race horses and race camels but never for an elephant,” said assistant zoo director Pat Lampi.
I see mid-night infomercials in their future. Soon everybody with an elephant will want one.
Yup, quite a contraption. Really nothing compared to what they have at this trade show, though:
http://www.dsei.co.uk/
That’s a awesome idea.
Makes me wonder why they didn’t come up with this a long time ago? I mean just get a conveyor belt from a car factory and make minor changes (if any) to it.
Not sure it would be cost effective but it’s a start.
well, it may sound okay BUT Maggie has been invited to live at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee where she’d walk on a varietyof natural surfaces, be in the company of an existing herd of elephants, splash in spring fed ponds, live in a warm nurturing climate and cared for by the best people in the business. The Elephant Sanctuary is an award winning one of a kind not for profit shelter for elephants. Made to order for Maggie. Treadmill, shmeadmill.
i’ve never responded to a blog before. I hope my comments went through. Susan Bleiberg