Bob Barker offers $100K for elephant checkup

Former television game show host Bob Barker is offering $100,000 to the City of Edmonton if it willallowexperts to examine Lucy, the lone elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

"It seems like a win-win-win scenario to me,"said Barker, in a news release."The zoo wins, concerned citizens win, but most importantly of all, Lucy wins," said Barker, who gave up hosting duties with The Price is Right in 2007 after some 35 years.

A growing list of celebrities have joined animal rights groups ina high-profile campaign over the past couple of years urging the zoo to move the 35-year-old Asian elephant to a sanctuary in the United States.

The groups including Zoocheck and PETAbelieve Lucy is overweight, lonely and plagued withhealth problems typicalof captive elephants.

Once Lucy is examined byexperts selected by the animal protection groups, the city can spend the money however it wants, said Barker.

In December, former Edmonton Oiler Georges Laraque offered to donate $100,000 to a city projectsuch as adowntown arena or a new Indy racetrack, if the city moves Lucy to a warmer climate.

The cityhas refused to entertain such requests, maintaining Lucy receives excellent care andmoving her would endanger her health.