PITTSBURGH ZOO Death sparks technique queries

The zoo is keeping its elephants away from human contact for now.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The death of an elephant handler at the Pittsburgh Zoo & amp; PPG Aquarium has sparked questions about techniques.
An animal rights group said the death would have been avoided had the zoo been using a technique being adopted elsewhere.
Mike Gatti, 46, was killed while walking the 18-year-old female African elephant and her 3-year-old calf on zoo grounds Monday in what is described as "free contact" management, in which elephants and humans share the same unrestricted space.
Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, however, say the zoo should adopt full-time "protected contact" management, in which handlers and elephants are separated by a barrier.
"There is absolutely no reason and no justification for using free contact anymore," said Jane Garrison, an elephant specialist with PETA. She said protected contact is safer for handlers.
"They would never dream of going into an enclosure with tigers or bears," Garrison said. "The zoo needs to be responsible for making the best decisions for the keepers and the animals in their care."
For now, the Pittsburgh Zoo is keeping its three adult females and two calves away from human contact, spokeswoman Connie George said. The zoo also has two adult males, which have been on loan to a facility in Florida for several years for breeding purposes.
Ongoing investigation
The zoo uses free contact with its three adult females and protected contact with its bulls, George said. She said no decision would be made immediately on whether to adopt protected contact for all elephants after Gatti's death.
"We're not making any decision until a full investigation is conducted, No. 1, and until we can all think logically," George said, noting that the staff was grieving.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating the death. Zoo president Barbara Baker said it would be about two weeks before the findings are available.
The 6,200-pound adult elephant stopped and failed to respond to Gatti's verbal command to move, then pushed Gatti to the ground with its head. There is no indication, zoo officials said, that Gatti prodded the elephant with his elephant hook.
"We don't have any indication, actually, that he even had a chance," Baker said.
Using protected contact to manage elephants has become increasingly popular over the past decade, and the technique is now used by about half of all zoos that have elephants, says the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in Silver Spring, Md.
The association doesn't advocate one form over the other, but conducts training programs that deal with both, said spokeswoman Jane Ballentine.
Many zoos adopted the technique after another handler died at the Oakland Zoo in January 1991.
"When I found out about it, we just jumped right in. I wanted to make sure it never happened in Oakland again. Period," said Joel Parrott, executive director of the Oakland Zoo.
The zoo implemented protected contact by the end of 1991 and has had no elephant problems since, he said.