Around 1900, there was an ostrich that reportedly wandered freely between Kapiolani Park and Kaimuki. The ostrich came from the first zoo in Hawai'i located in Kaimuki. The animals were imported by a developer to attract people to the lots he was selling. He needed a gimmick because the red dirt kept potential investors away. Later the "zoo", or what was left of it, moved to Kapiolani Park, and became just a couple of pens. This area was once called Makee Ailana or Island, an amazing wetland ecosystem.

In 1916, Daisy the elephant was imported from Africa. She was the zoo's star attraction for two decades. Little children rode her around in a circle all day long. In 1933, Daisy trampled her trainer and killed him. The police immediately killed Daisy, towed her body to the ocean and left it for the sharks.

Now the Honolulu zoo is here. It is undergoing a $60 million redevelopment exercise. The mayor wants to attract 5,000 visitors here per day. He wants to build a BRT terminus in front of it.

Editor's note: In the book "Hawaiian Yesterdays", it says that Daisy was bought by money raised by Honolulu's city school children. We find this hard to believe!! It was probably just another 'community building' exercise to get the children to more fully participate later in animal cruelty.

Seems that the wrong things are killed and fed to the sharks. Let's hope Daisy's spirit lives on.