In a turnaround, the LA City Council voted to allow construction to continue on a six-acre, $42-million Pachyderm Forest that opponents said was too small and expensive. The Los Angeles Times reports that the council voted 11 to 4 to keep elephants at the LA Zoo, which is a bit of a surprise because past council action--including ordering work stoppage last month on the enclosure--indicated they might kill the Pachy Jungle, and send the zoo's only elephant, Billy, packing. The change of course may have come from the zoo's fundraising arm offering $14.5 million (above the $5 million it had committed initially) to defray some of the city’s financial responsibility. Celebs like Lily Tomlin and Cher have come out publicly against the project, with Bob Barker actually offering $1.5 million of his own money to ship Billy to a sanctuary. [Los Angeles Times]
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