DENVER (AP) — Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo have lived in Colorado Springs for decades in the elephant exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Now an animal rights group is trying to release the elephants from what they say is essentially a prison for such highly intelligent and social animals known to roam for miles a day in the wild.
Colorado's highest court will hear arguments Thursday on whether the older African female elephants should be legally able to challenge their captivity under a long-held process used by prisoners to dispute their detention. The animal rights group NonHuman Rights Project says the animals are languishing while “unlawfully confined” at the zoo, and wants them released to an unspecified elephant sanctuary.
“They are suffering immensely and unnecessarily. Without judicial intervention, they are doomed to suffer day after day, year after year, for the rest of their lives,” a lawyer for the group, Jake Davis, said in a May brief submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court.
The main legal issue is whether or not the elephants are considered persons under the law, and therefore able to pursue a petition of habeas corpus challenging their detention. The NonHuman Rights project argues that legal personhood is not limited to humans.
The lawsuit is similar to an unsuccessful one the group filed challenging the confinement of an elephant named Happy at the Bronx Zoo in 2022. New York's Court of Appeals ruled that Happy, while intelligent and deserving of compassion, cannot be considered a person illegally confined with the ability to pursue a petition seeking release.
The New York ruling said giving such rights to an elephant “would have an enormous destabilizing impact on modern society" and change how humans interact with animals.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo says moving the elephants and potentially placing them with new animals would be cruel at their age, potentially causing them unnecessary stress. It says they are not used to being in larger herds and, based on its experience, they do not have the skills or desire to join them.
In a statement ahead of Thursday's hearing, the zoo claimed the NonHuman Rights Project isn't concerned about the elephants but is just trying to create a judicial precedent that would allow the captivity of any animal to challenged.
“We hope Colorado isn’t the place that sets the slippery slope in motion of whether your beloved and well-cared-for dog or cat should have habeas corpus and would be required to ‘go free,’ at the whim of someone else’s opinion of them,” it said.
This undated photo provided by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo shows elephant Kimba at the Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo via AP)
This undated photo provided by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo shows elephants Kimba, front, and Lucky, back, at the Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo via AP)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ja Morant’s ability to take over a game hasn’t diminished.
Morant didn’t miss a beat in leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a 126-124 season-opening victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. The two-time NBA all-star finished with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 10 assists and five rebounds in only 28 minutes. It was the 24th game of his career where he had at least 20 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
“My job as a point guard is to control the game,” Morant said. “I hate if I let the other team’s point guard control the game. Whatever I can do to make sure it’s in our favor, I try to do.”
His performance comes on the heels of a 2023-24 season marred by controversy and injury. The NBA suspended him for the first 25 games for flashing a gun on his friend’s Instagram account. Then, after appearing in just nine games, Morant suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
The long rehabilitation process he went through following shoulder surgery made Morant appreciate how much basketball meant to him while it was gone. Once he was cleared for full basketball activities again in mid-July, he looked forward to stepping back out on the court on Wednesday.
The moment was everything he expected and wanted.
“I was just excited to be back out there,” Morant said. “These guys trust and believe in me every time I’m out there on the floor, so it’s only right I go out there and play free.”
Morant’s activity on both ends of the floor helped the Grizzlies weather a fourth-quarter rally from the Jazz. He came up with timely baskets or assists whenever Memphis needed an answer. Defensively, he worked to be disruptive and keep the Jazz from permanently seizing momentum down the stretch.
Morant made every minute he was on the floor count.
“He only played 28 minutes tonight,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “But those were hard-playing 28 minutes.”
Morant’s goal is to be even more productive and efficient as he gets continued reps. It’s an extension of the work he put in over the summer to improve his game and heighten his impact on the floor.
“That was the biggest takeaway from this summer is the investment in his body, knowing we’re going to continue to push him even more than we’ve done in the past,” Jenkins said. “He responded in game one. We’re going to need it for many, many more games moving forward.”
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Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant prepares to shoot a free throw in the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Miami Heat, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant handles the ball against the Miami Heat in the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) dribbles the ball while Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) holds the ball against the Utah Jazz during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
