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Mittal Steel asked to find new elephant for zoo
A Polish city has appealed to Indian industrial giant Mittal Steel to find a new elephant for its zoo after its previous Indian elephant died.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 August 6, 2006
Warsaw : A Polish city has appealed to Indian industrial giant Mittal Steel to find a new elephant for its zoo after its previous Indian elephant died.
Though Burma, a 40-year-old crowd-puller, died in July, trade restrictions on zoo elephants and long waiting lists mean it can take years for zoos to find replacements.
Mittal Steel, the world's number one steel company which owns a mill in the southern Polish city, could be the answer, said Krystina Paluchowska, a spokesperson at Krakow city hall.
"Everyone in the city is waiting for a new elephant, especially the children," she said. "It could take a long time if we don't get help." Paluchowska said the steel giant, whose chairman Lakshmi Mittal is one of the world's five richest men, could pull strings in India to procure an elephant for the zoo. A spokesman at Mittal Steel's Krakow unit had no immediate comment.
Both Indian and Asian elephants are an endangered species, numbering around 30,000 in the wild and 15,000 in captivity.
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