Elephants and Elephant Issues
Elephants @ JodysJungle
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Updated Sept. 17, 2009

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Friends of the Asian Elephant/FAE
@ JodysJungle.com

Updates, Information and Photos 2008
Updates, Information and Photos 2001 to 2007
FAE Mobile Vet
Motala Landmine Victim 1999 to 2008
Baby Mosha's Photo Album

Here Comes Babe!
9/16/09

Babe

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is pleased to announced that Babe,
a 25-year-old African elephant currently residing at Cleveland Amory's Black Beauty Ranch in Texas,
will soon be joining Tange and Flora at the Sanctuary.

~

The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald,Tennessee
BUNNY
2009-05-15
57-Year-Old Bunny the Elephant Lives to a Ripe Old Age
On May 14, at around 3:30pm Central Time, Bunny, the second to the oldest elephant resident of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee,
died peacefully in the company of her caregivers. Bunny's long time elephant companions, Shirley and Tarra, kept a round-the-clock vigil nearby.
Read more...
Bunny's Bio
NED
21 Year-Old Captive Born Male Elephant Dies from Long Term Illness
On May 15, at 3:42 am CT, Ned, the second elephant ever confiscated by the United States Department of Agriculture,
died peacefully in the company of his caregivers at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Ned
In Memory of Ned

~

Elephant Boonpan and Baby Namfon
Friends of the Asian Elephant..FAE..Thailand 4/27/09

Namfron

We are facing a real problem, Boonpan refuses to nurse her baby, trying to hurt (or kill) her at every chance.
We tried to persuade Boonpan to recognize her own baby but her behaviour this morning was the intention to kill.
They have to stay in different Infirmaries away from each other.
It might take days or weeks and if Boonpan completely rejects her we have to feed Namfon with powdered milk for the next two years.
Boonpan killed her first offspring and this is her second. We would not risk the baby's life and shall do our best to make the two happy.
Soraida Salwala
Founder
Friends of the Asian Elephant

~

Mosha Update 2009
Baby Mosha's Second Prosthetic Leg, New Pictures
Including "Mosha Arrives 2006"

Mosha 2006 FAE

Mosha is the bravest, sweetest little girl ever. jj

~

Posted Feb. 7, 2009
The Eyes of Thailand
“U.S. documentary features the Friends of the Asian Elephant”
In 1993, Thailand boasted 40,000 Thai Asian Elephants. Fourteen years later, there were less than 2,600 left in captivity. In response to this staggering decline, a North American theatre company, known as “The Chiang Mai Project”, traveled to northern Thailand to raise international awareness about the rapid extinction of one of Thailand’s national icons. Once there, they learned that not only are the Thai Asian Elephants endangered, but the remaining elephants are overworked, abused, or disfigured from landmine injuries. Soraida Salwala, the passionate founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant, continues to risk her life every day to treat and protect the elephants from further abuse at the first ever Elephant Hospital. Witnessing her tireless commitment, love and determination, the actors began to look at the world, their lives, and their craft from a new perspective.
Produced, Written and Directed by Windy Borman, with music provided by Singer/Songwriter Amie Penwell, D.V.A. Productions presents a documentary that asks you to question your ideas, believe art can change lives, and look at the world through “The Eyes of Thailand.”
View the film’s trailer at:
youtube.com
video.yahoo.com
dailymotion.com

~

Bob Barker pledges $1.5M to move LA elephant, Billy
Jan 26, 2009 AP
LOS ANGELES
Longtime "Price is Right" host Bob Barker pledged $1.5 million Monday to move the lone elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo to a sanctuary in Northern California, a move that could end a dispute about where the pachyderm should live. Barker said in a letter he would donate the money to move Billy the elephant to the facility run by the
Performing Animal Welfare Society/PAWS
There, Billy would be reunited with Ruby, another elephant previously moved from the zoo. The sanctuary "offers the nearest thing possible to life in his natural habitat," Barker said in the letter.
Read Full Story
And leave a comment

~

IN MEMORIAM
MINNIE 1955-2009
January 22, 2009

Minnie..PAWS

"Minnie, our 54 year old circus retiree whose vocalizations and sweet disposition charmed everyone at ARK 2000, died peacefully in her barn with Rebecca, her long time companion, and Pat Derby, Ed Stewart and her keepers at her side. Her peaceful posture and the serenity with which she slipped away were a great comfort to all of us. Minnie, who had endured years chained in railroad cars died tranquilly among her old friends."
pawsweb.org

~

ZULA

Zula

On January 11, 2009, Carol Buckley wrote in the African Ele-diary,
"It is with great sorrow that we report that today we lost another of our precious elephants. Even if we were prepared for the loss, even if we had received some advance notice, the shock and sadness would not be diminished. But the suddenness of Zula’s passing has shaken us to our core. Zula, “big sister” and dearest friend to Tange, the nurturer, mature and kind, known to be gentle to everyone she ever met, left us tonight just after 11pm".
Zula's Bio

~

December 2008
To: info@pawsweb.org
Subject: ELEPHANT TUMAI
You used to have a link to Elephant Tumai.
I have had it on my site for years and now I cannot find it,
thanks for any help.
Jody
We have an electronic version of the book
“Everything You Wanted to Know About Elephants”
which has Tumai’s story in it.
Sincerely, Tamara
Note from jj...
this electronic book also has the stories of
Elephants Bindu, Hannibal, Tyke, Stoney
and the picture "Breaking of a three year old Asian elephant".
Heartbreaking.

Welcome Ned!!!
On Saturday, November 8, 2008 an emaciated Asian male elephant named Ned was confiscated from Florida based circus trainer Lance Ramos by the USDA for failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act and was placed by USDA authority with The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. On Sunday, November 9th, at about 12:30 p.m., Ned arrived at The Elephant Sanctuary. Ned will reside only temporarily in his private facility at The Sanctuary until a permanent facility is ready for him.

Ned

~

Plai Boon Mee
Young Elephant Killed by Drunk Bangkok Truck Driver
bangkokpost.com October 17, 2008
Soraida Salwala, founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant foundation, said the problems of elephants roaming the streets had gone on for too long. The authorities paid only lip service to improving the welfare of the roaming elephants and the mahouts. ''This accident could have been prevented. Elephants should not roam about in cities. They should stay where they belong,'' Ms Soraida said. She would ask Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin to make sure Bangkok is free of roaming elephants. She was also seeking legal avenues for action against people involved in abusing elephants and against high-ranking officials who turn a blind eye to the problem.
pattayadailynews.com

Prosthetic Leg for Baby Elephant Mosha
June 2008

"Baby Mosha who was injured by landmine when she was only seven months old back in 2006 has fully recovered. And Asso. Prof. Therdchai Jivagate, from the Prostheses Foundation will be at Friends of the Asian Elephant’s Hospital in Hangchatr, Lampang Province on Saturday the 21st of June, 2008 around 9.00 a.m. to proceed with the prosthetic leg for Baby Mosha who is now two years and seven months old. She has been prepared to put the artificial leg since February after she weaned off in December 2007, her mother had to go back to the owners while Mosha has been donated to FAE to take care of her for the rest of her life. Mosha has been walking on the pre-prosthetic leg since February and in good health and her spirit is high."
Soraida Salwala, Founder
Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE)
FAE updates @ JodysJungle.com

~

The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee
March 11, 2008
Delhi
"In the early hours of the morning while her sisters and caregivers slept, Delhi made her transition. Her passing was silent and peaceful, she passed without waking. We are all spending the day honoring our last precious hours with her; caregivers are still fussing around her, whispering quiet goodbyes. Misty carefully touched all over Delhi’s body and then gently stepped over her, sheltering her dearly departed friend. We are honored to have been Delhi’s caregivers, thankful to be loved by such a kind and wise being. The gifts that Delhi has bestowed upon all of us have been immeasurable. We are ever grateful".

Delhi

"Namaste our dearest Delhi"

~

ARNA the ELEPHANT 2007
Arna has been mired in controversy since animal liberationists took civil action against the circus in 2002, alleging animal cruelty. Animal Liberation NSW fought its cruelty case for two years, but the matter was dismissed in court. Since then the group has lobbied councils around the state to ban circus acts that include wild animals. Animal Liberation NSW executive director Mark Pearson said last night Arna was a "time bomb'' ready to explode. "It's like any highly intelligent wild animal incarcerated - they're under extreme distress all of the time,'' he said. "When you put an extremely powerful, essentially wild animal that can't be domesticated that can only be tamed or broken in, well then you have a time bomb ready to go off. "To train an elephant to perform ridiculous tricks like Arna does, they have to go through a great deal of brutality. When all different things come together, they will get revenge,'' he said. "It's very interesting that they kill their trainers first," Mr. Pearson said.
Arna @ JodysJungle.com
Arna's Plight @ Circus Watch WA

Arna's Consolation Prize
Sunday March 17, 2002
When does an elephant become a Lion?

Arna's receives an award

After 35 years as a special member of the Stardust Circus, Arna the mouth organ playing elephant has become an honorary member of the Lions Club of Murray Bridge. For more than three decades Arna has toured the country and helped raise over $500,000 for Lions clubs across Australia. This includes donating two wheelchairs for disabled children through the Sydney Lebanese Club. Arna's original owner Mr. Robert Perry said she is a very special elephant and has been owned by his family for the past 37 years. "She has a lovely nature and is very good with kids," he said. "We believe it is the first time in the world an elephant has become a Lion at Large." Mr. Perry said Arna has become a TV star in recent years and has appeared on television with Ray Martin a number of times. The forty - year old circus star weighs about four tonnes and stands 2.74 metres tall. She is originally from Thailand and was sold by Mr Perry to the circus in 1993.

In recognition of her contribution to the community, the Lions District Governor Mr Bob Radford last night presented her with an extra large dinner badge at a ceremony at Murray Bridge showgrounds.

(I cannot imagine anything less meaningful to Arna, is it supposed to bring her great comfort as she rocks back and forth every day of her solitary existance?)

Arna rocks back and forth in an attempt to relieve her boredom

Email: lionsaust@ozemail.com.au
"I wish you had considered helping Arna the elephant leave the Stardust Circus and retire to an elephant sanctuary..it would have meant so much more to her than a badge...I have donated to her cause, money that I earned on eBay, because I believe this wonderful elephant deserves to be among her own kind...I wish you did too. Maybe you will help with her appeal... Here's hoping, Jody@JodysJungle.com"

Arna

The next ARNA Appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court in Queens Square on Thursday 21 November, 2002

6/02/02
Dear Jody,
Thank you for your interest in ARNA's plight. Yes, despite chronic financial difficulties we have decided to appeal and have registered this in court. Our legal advice is that we have a very good chance of winning.
All good wishes
JO BELL Animal Liberation

Arna

Disappointing Arna Update
May 17, 2002
ARNA the elephant will continue her solo journey with the circus, a court has ruled. Magistrate Paul Lyon today ruled against Animal Liberation NSW claims of cruelty to Arna the Asiatic elephant by Stardust Circus. Mr Lyon cut the case short on the grounds there was no deliberate intent to cause pain to the elephant.
Arna

~

Friends of the Asian Elephant
Motala 8/25/07
Dear Miss Jody:
On Tuesday 28th August, 2007 will mark the 8th anniversary of the success of Motala's operation. Associate Prof. Therdchai Jivacate from the Prostheses Foundation will be present to visit Motala and have a meeting with me and Dr. Preecha. The conclusion will be released to the reporters after our meeting around 2.30 p.m.
We have some photos and info (in Thai) on www.elephant-soraida.com
It would be very kind of you to please let FAE's supporters know. Thank you so much.
Soraida

FAE's NEW ADDRESS:
Friends of the Asian Elephant
687/2 Ram-Indra Road Soi 32,
Tharaeng, Bangkhen,
Bangkok 10230
Tel. 0-2509-1200
Fax. 0-2509-3533
e-mail fae@elephant-soraida.com
web site www.elephant-soraida.com
motala@jodysjungle.com (page is slow to load)
F.A.E. updates@jodysjungle.com

~

June, 2007
Hansa, Woodland Park Zoo elephant, dead at 6
By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter
Hansa, the 6 ½-year-old elephant at Woodland Park Zoo, was found dead this morning inside the zoo's elephant barn. Zoo officials believe the female Asian elephant died quietly in her sleep. Hansa had been lethargic and had a decreased appetite over the past week, according to the zoo. The zoo's health staff had been monitoring Hansa and providing fluids and antibiotics, but all tests proved inconclusive. Zoo officials believed that Hansa had improved slightly earlier this week. Hansa, born Nov. 3, 2000, was the first elephant born in the state of Washington, zoo officials said. Her mother is 28-year-old Chai. Because of her death, the zoo's Elephant Forest, which features 40-year-old Bamboo, a female Asian elephant, and 38-year-old Watoto, a female African elephant, will be closed all day. Zoo officials said during a news conference this afternoon that they would be conducting a necropsy today on the elephant. But they cautioned it could be weeks before the results are known. Officials said the normal life expectancy for an elephant in captivity is 46 years. "She was a little princess, and she had a big old Buddha belly," Dr. Kelly Helmick, the zoo's director of animal health, said as she teared up during the news conference. "She was just beginning to mature and drop her baby weight, and we were talking about her future as a mother." In fall 1998, the zoo spent $50,000 for travel and stud fees to send Chai to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo., where she mated with a sire named Onyx. Before the trip, the zoo had spent six years trying to artificially inseminate the elephant.
Chai's 22-month pregnancy ended Nov. 3, 2000, when the 235-pound calf was born at Woodland Park. Almost immediately zoo attendance doubled. A competition to name the calf yielded the name Hansa (pronounced HUN-suh) meaning "supreme happiness" in Thailand, which was Chai's birthplace. "Our beloved Hansa's short life was in the best hands of elephant care and management," explained Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen. "Of course, our elephant-care staff, other staff and volunteers, and our Board are deeply saddened. We will all miss her. "We are a family here and we will provide as much support and comfort possible during this difficult time." Zoo officials said memorials for Hansa can be placed outside the zoo's South Entrance at North 50th Street and Fremont Avenue North. Maria French, president of Northwest Animal Rights Network in Seattle, said the organization has long fought for Woodland Park to end its elephant program. She said the elephants at the zoo don't have enough space to roam. This lack of space, she said, can cause behavioral and health problems in elephants. "This is very sad Hansa has passed," French said this afternoon. "Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to Woodland Park Zoo and the [Seattle] City Council that there aren't the resources to care for these animals at Woodland Park Zoo." She suggests that Woodland Park and at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma released its elephants to a sanctuary in Tennessee. Gigi Allianic, a zoo spokeswoman, said the zoo will continue to raise elephants, and Dr. Deborah Jensen, the zoo's president and chief executive, said Hansa received only the best care. "We will all miss her," Allianic said. "We are a family here and we will provide as much support and comfort possible during this difficult time."
Information previously reported in The Times and from The Associated Press is included in this report.
Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

~

HANSA

Picture of baby Hansa 2002, playing with inner tube

As of September 8, 2002
Hansa weighs 1,700 pounds and continues to delight visitors to Woodland Park Zoo. Now nearly two years old and almost one ton she continues to grow at nearly two pounds per day. By adulthood she could weigh over four tons.
View Hansa's growth chart, pictures, slideshow and videos

July 24, 2002
By Bobbi Nodell  Seattle Times
Hansa was once a publicity darling for Woodland Park Zoo, but lately the rambunctious baby Asian elephant and her keepers' handling of her have become a source of rattled nerves and bad press for zoo officials.
Elephant Beating Scandal
July 16, 2002

Baby Hansa

Hansa, Born at 4:48 a.m. (PST) November 3, 2000 in Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, to mother Chai. Birth Statistics: the calf weighed 235 pounds and stood about 3 feet high.
Sire:
Onyx died May 22, 2002 Springfield Mo., Dickerson Park Zoo

Mama Chai & Baby Hansa 2000

The pregnancy of Chai
at Woodland Park Zoo as told from the zoo's head elephant keeper, Pat Maluy.

ONYX

May 24, 2002
Big Mac, whose real name was Onyx, died Wednesday of suspected intestinal problems at the Dickerson Park Zoo. Big Mac was only 38 years old, young for an elephant in captivity, and had sired 12 calves, including HAJI and HANSA
through the zoo’s elephant breeding program. The elephant was donated to the Springfield zoo in 1980.

Onyx/Dickerson Park Zoo     Onyx/Springfield News Leader

~

HAJI

Wednesday July 17, 2002 7:20 PM
SPRINGFIELD, MO
The first Asian elephant conceived through artificial insemination died at a zoo Wednesday of a viral infection that caused his tongue to turn purple and his head to swell. Haji was born in 1999 after years of research on the elephant reproductive system and failed attempts at artificial insemination. Sperm was taken from Onyx, an Asian elephant that sired 12 calves before dying in May. Haji's mother, Moola, remains at the zoo. The nearly 3-year-old calf, had been in failing health at the Dickerson Park Zoo since Saturday.
Source: Guardian Unlimited

Tuesday Jul. 16, 2002
SPRINGFIELD, MO
The health of an Asian elephant calf infected with a deadly herpesvirus appeared to worsen Tuesday as treatment with an experimental regiment of drugs continued. Officials at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield remained hopeful that the nearly 3-year-old elephant calf, named "Haji," would recover from endothelial inclusion body disease, a herpesvirus specific to elephants. It is generally fatal within five days, zoo spokeswoman Melinda Mancuso said.
Source: KansasCity.com

~

~

Gypsy and Nic

Nic and Gypsy, Elephants in the Mud at PAWS
In spite of his size, Nic is just a baby, aww!

~

PLEASE
Help Stop the Elephant Cull in South Africa
Between 1966 and 1994 more than 16,000 elephants were killed in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, as a method of 'population control'. A moratorium on elephant culling was thankfully put in place in 1995. However, it now seems that elephant culling is once again in the cards for South Africa’s elephants.  
On 28th February, 2007, Born Free was deeply disappointed to learn that the South African Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalwyck, had announced that as part of the new Draft Norms and Standards on Elephant Management, culling would be one of the options considered. Born Free is extremely concerned about this decision, which not only has serious implications for South Africa’s elephants, but also for the wider elephant population. For more details, see Born Free’s Press Release

~

Baby girl born to Ellie & Raja, August 2, 2006
St. Louis Zoo

~

In Memory of Joanna Burke

~

A Rare Glimpse Inside
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
WKRN.com Video
If the above link doesn't work, try this one
wkrn.com news
and scroll down to
"Rare Glimpse Inside The Elephant Sanctuary"

The Elephant Sanctuary
Begins the Largest Rescue of Needy Circus Elephants in US History
Nov 29th, 2005 - Following months of negotiations, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has been granted the care of 12 needy elephants from the Hawthorn Corp in Richmond, IL. Having recently received three elephants from this herd, the Sanctuary will begin transferring the remaining 9 elephants in late December and plans to have completed the transfer by mid-January. As the single largest rescue of elephants in US history, this is an unprecedented event that could not have come too soon.
More Information

~

Hawthorn Elephants Homecoming

Misty & Delhi

Misty and Delhi are ready to welcome their Hawthorn sisters home!
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
needs our help to ensure they have everything the new arrivals require.
The eight new arrivals will be:
Billie - born 1953   Liz - born 1957   Queenie - born 1959
  Lottie - born 1963   Sue - born 1965   Minnie - born 1966
  Frieda - born 1966   Debbie - born 1971
Hawthorn Elephants Emergency Wish List

~

Gildah the Elephant Dies
Gildah the 4-ton Thai elephant used in the Siegfried & Roy show has died of natural causes, the performers said Thursday. Gildah, 57, died August 30, 2005 at The Mirage hotel-casino's animal habitat in Las Vegas.

GILDA/GILDAH The Elephant
In 2001, while researching Gilda, I found many items that were posted in 1999...nothing posted more recently. Is it possible that we have given up on her? Is this the way it works, we lose interest and go on to other things? That is not the reason I started this web site, I don't lose interest, and neither should you.
Gilda is a 42-year-old Asian elephant who is housed alone at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. She spends the majority of her day in a small outdoor enclosure except for the brief time that she is brought onstage to be used by Siegfried and Roy in a disappearing act. Companionship is critical to the health and well-being of elephants. The most highly respected elephant experts in the world concur that it is extremely cruel to keep an elephant isolated from other elephants. Please write to the Mirage and ask that Gilda be retired to the
Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee where she can experience the love and friendship of other elephants.
Contact:
President, Mirage Hotel and Casino
3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Chair and CFO
MGM-Mirage
3600 Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89177

~

MPALA
African Elephant Orphan
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

One day, in the middle of May 2002, an elephant mother dying of bullet wounds inflicted by poachers, struggled to come back with her 6 month old calf to a "safe haven" - namely a 54,000 acre Ranch on the Laikipia Plateau called "Mpala", 280 Kms. from Nairobi, owned by a wealthy American and overseen by a conservation minded Board of Trustees. The wildlife of the Ranch is protected, and there she came to die.

Mpala's Mother

"At the request of the Ranch Manager, this little newcomer was named "Mpala" and we hope that somewhere in the great somewhere the soul of his elephant mother will now be able to rest in peace, knowing that her baby had found the help she intended and he needed. For, we are convinced that that elephant mother, shot and wounded beyond the boundaries of the Ranch by poachers, came back to die in a place where she knew her baby might be safe, with a chance of being able to escape the same fate."

Mpala 2002

Mpala April, 2003

Mpala April 2003

JodysJungle.com is honored to be one of the loving sponsors of Mpala.
With deep gratitude to The Sheldrick Trust and Mpala's Mother.
Read more about Mpala's rescue

  • Fostering

    ~

    Lota is Gone

    Lota was finally able to lay down for the first time in decades at The Elephant Sanctuary

    Lota was forced to spent most of her life in "the entertainment industry".
    She was finally rescued and lived free for a short while at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
    The next time you hear the word "circus", please remember Lota.

    ~

    Man's Animal Instincts Leave Elephant Injured and Blind
    Dhaka, Mar 5, 2005 (UNI)
    Human instincts are sometimes more deadly for animals than vice versa, as exemplified by the ''bestial'' attack by a mob on an elephant in Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar district. The mob attacked the wild elephant, who entered the area in search of food, with hot iron rods and powdered chilli on Wednesday, injuring and blinding him.
    Source & Story: deepikaglobal

    ~

    To make room for new, young elephants abducted from the wild in Africa, the San Diego Wild Animal Park discarded its aging elephants Peaches, Wankie, and Tatima and sent them to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago April 2003. These elephants had lived together in San Diego for decades since they were captured in Africa as babies. In Chicago, Peaches, Wankie and Tatima live in bleak and barren conditions and suffer from stress, the shock of the cold climate, inactivity, and ill health.

    PEACHES
    Peaches

    January 18, 2005
    For the second time in three months one of Lincoln Park Zoo's African elephants has died, this time it was Peaches. She was found this morning on the floor of her enclosure with unfocused, almost unseeing eyes. After day-long efforts to get her on her feet failed, she was put to sleep Monday night.

    TATIMA
    Tatima

    35-Year-Old African Elephant Dies At Chicago Zoo
    TB Suspected As Cause Of Death
    One of Lincoln Park Zoo's three African Elephants has died. Tatima, 35, was found dead Saturday morning, 10/16/04 in her indoor habitat at Regenstein African Journey, according to Robyn Barbiers, a veterinarian and vice president of collections at the zoo. She died as the result of complications from a bacteria infection, Barbiers said.

    ~

    baby albino elephant
    Photo: Odette Joubert, The Star
    This baby elephant, believed to be a very rare albino,
    was spotted in the Kruger National Park.
    1/12/2005
    www.iol.co.za

    ~

    LOTA & MISTY
    10/29/04
    After a three month delay, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has lifted their suspension of the Sanctuary’s import permit and granted permission for Lota (Low-ta) and Misty to move to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.
    Congratulations to Carol, Scott, Lota and Misty!!

    ~

    Why 5000 Elephants Must Die
    Sunday Herald October 24, 2004
    ©2004 newsquest (sunday herald) limited
    Nobody wants to kill them, but 12 years without a cull in the Kruger Park has been a disaster for animals and humans, reports Fred Bridgland in Johannesburg.
    We sat down to a hot meal of maize porridge and elephant and onion mince, swigged down with Castle lager, at the end of a hard day. I had spent it with Kruger Park game ranger Jack Greef, who had been dispatching African elephants with high-velocity 7.62 bullets fired behind their ears and into their brains. “Don’t ask me if I enjoyed today,” Jack warned me gruffly. “Elephants are beautiful creatures. Of all the animals in the Kruger Park I respect the elephant most. We play God, but we are not God. Every time you cull it takes something away from you. This is not a nice job, but it has to be done.”
    That was 12 years ago. I had just watched one of the last culls of elephants in the Kruger Park. Jack and his team killed an entire family of 300 matriarchs and youngsters that day, in the annual cull that kept the Kruger elephant population at a steady 7500 to prevent heavy destruction of vegetation and allow other species to flourish.
    Under pressure from conservation purists such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Washington-based Humane Society, a moratorium was later called on annual elephant culls. As a result the Kruger elephant population has grown to 13,000 and the great park – roughly the size of Israel – is suffering such huge damage that culling is about to be reintroduced.
    Anticipating the inevitable international outcry, the South African National Parks (SANP) board last week held a conference in the Kruger Park to discuss the pros and cons of elephant culling – or killing, if your prefer. The great elephant debate featured scientists, academics, animal welfare groups, private nature reserves and representatives of neighbouring countries and of the African communities that border the Kruger.
    The latter, ruthlessly ignored in the long history of African wildlife conservation, were the most important representatives. Unlike Western animal rights activists, who take for granted phones, electricity, water, sewage, hospitals, roads and three meals a day, African villagers have to tolerate elephants that wreck their fields, strip their trees and occasionally take their lives.
    The conference tossed around various options for managing wild elephants, including translocation, contraception and culling, in preparation for a national and international debate before a decision is made next April on what should be done to control the Kruger population. Few doubt that the final decision will be to cull 1000 Kruger elephants a year for five years to return the population to the 1992 level.
    Hector Mangome, director of conservation services with SANP, said a management plan had already been drawn up for the cull because large trees over 15 feet in height were being rapidly destroyed, along with other dense vegetation habitats favoured by animals that are more threatened than elephants, such as the rare black rhino and highly endangered antelopes such as the roan, tsessebe, Livingstone’s suni and the splendid, rufous-golden Lichtenstein’s hartebeest.
    It has to be accepted, Africa’s wild animals having been fenced in, that their numbers have to be controlled accordingly, argue men like Greef, Mangome and others who love these magnificent creatures. When the Kruger Park was created at the end of the Boer war in 1902, by Major James Stevenson-Hamilton, a short, stocky Scot who was Laird of Fairholm in Lanarkshire, there were only a handful of elephants there. The rest had been wiped out by prodigious European hunting and the ravaging rinderpest disease that swept down from central Africa in the late 1890s.
    Gradually rehabilitating the small stocks of survivors and adding land to the park wherever possible, Stevenson-Hamilton painstakingly grew his herd of Kruger elephants to just 65 animals by 1918.
    The Laird of Fairholm “reigned” over Kruger for 44 years, and by 1954, eight years after he retired, 514 elephants were counted. By 1970 the Kruger elephants, descendants of the few Stevenson-Hamilton rescued, were 9000 strong and inflicting huge damage on the delicate and varied Kruger ecosystems. The annual culls began.
    In the Africa of old, implanted romantically in Western consciousness by films such as the Tarzan series and Where No Vultures Fly, elephants dispersed naturally, moving on as herds expanded and stripped areas bare of vegetation, allowing them to recover. In modern Africa, people – and especially peasants in picturesque- looking grass huts – no more like elephants trampling over their maize and bananas than suburban Scottish man would welcome elephants uprooting his tomato plants and dahlias. Wild elephants that survive through this new century will do so only behind fences.
    By 1978 a 20-year project to fence the entire Kruger Park had been completed. But this ended migration possibilities, and elephant concentrations became unnaturally dense. Elephants are prone to sudden tastes, and vegetation surveys showed they were eliminating great swathes of spectacular baobab trees – often more than 70ft tall and up to 4000 years old – and knob thorns, the favourite nesting places of vultures.
    Kruger scientists set to work to come up with proposals on the elephant-holding capacity of the fenced park. “We had to permit the herds their traditional role of modifying vegetation patterns, but not bey ond the point where they could wreak havoc on vegetation and on other animals’ habitats,” Dr Salomon Joubert, former executive director of the Kruger Park, told me. The number decided upon was 7500.
    I expect next year to sit again with someone like Jack Greef at the end of a day of culling, a highly complex exercise, with vultures settled in the trees all around and hyenas and wild dogs lurking in the distance, as “disposal teams” of Shangaans, some of the best trackers and bush experts on the African continent, clad in white boots and overalls, move among the circle of dead elephants.
    They will perform their necessary but grisly chores – first slitting the great beasts’ throats with a single panga slash, causing immense rivers of blood to flow, and then eviscerating the elephants, at which point scientists will move in to remove treasured bits of tissue for research.
    As Jack and I watched in 1992, samples were taken, for example, from foetuses of dead cow elephants, which were to be sent to a zoologist at Australia’s Monash University, recruited by the Kenyan Parks Board to produce a contraceptive for its wild elephants. Western administrators of Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve had refused to kill any elephants, and condemned the Kruger cull, but had a major problem with desertification, and also with unfenced animals stampeding through villages and killing people.
    The irony was that the Masai Mara administrators were willing to take tissue from dead South African elephants in an attempt to save Kenyan elephants – and, incidentally, people.
    As yet, contraception is not the answer to elephant overpopulation. But no doubt the Kenyans, keeping as low a profile as possible, will be back next year to take their samples as the Kruger Park elephant cull is renewed.

    ~

    Stop The Export

    Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Poster

    Poster designed by Soraida Salwala for Friends of the Asian Elephant/FAE
    Funded by FBB (Fondation Brigitte Bardot)

    ~

    Uttar Pradesh Elephants Get Government Cover
    [Indo-Asian News Service] Lucknow, Sep 22, 2004
    Uttar Pradesh's surviving 143 elephants have at last found refuge in the union environment ministry's Project Elephant programme that was started in 1991. As part of the programme, to preserve elephant habitat and thereby protect the 22,000 pachyderms in the country, the state wildlife department will put electric fencing around certain areas -- where the animal's proximity to human habitation has begun to pose a threat to the lives of both people and elephants. According to Chief Conservator of Wildlife Mohammad Ahsan, most of the state's elephant population is concentrated in Bijnore and Saharanpur districts, along the border with Uttaranchal. According to him, the belt along the Uttaranchal border is home to 111 of 143 elephants in the state. "In order to preserve the elephants here, it had become absolutely essential to prevent their straying into agricultural fields and villages which leads to a conflict with humans and poses a threat to their mutual coexistence," Ahsan told IANS. "There have been umpteen cases of elephants ransacking fields. Resistance by the local population has also led to human killings by the elephant, breeding further animosity," he added. The official expressed the hope that the construction of the eight-kilometre electric fence would keep the elephants within the boundaries of the forest areas. The conservation exercise under the Project Elephant programme also includes the maintenance of waterholes, fire-prevention and anti-poaching measures.

    ~

    Children Celebrate "Elephant Appreciation Day" by Writing Letters to Ringling Bros. CEO
    September 22, 2004
    Norfolk, Va. — Proving that kids love elephants but don’t want to see them torn from their mothers while they are still babies, dressed up in costumes, and made to perform silly tricks, dozens of kids from around the world wrote letters to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld as part of an "Elephant Appreciation Day" contest on PETA’s Web site for kids, PETAKids.com. Five grand prize winners were selected from entries from kids as far away as France and India, who wanted to let Ringling know that they won’t be going to the circus as long as elephants are part of the act.
    Why are kids jumping through hoops for elephants used in circuses? Trainers use bullhooks, whips, and electric prods to force elephants and other animals to perform stressful and even dangerous tricks. In August, Ringling destroyed an 8-month-old elephant named Riccardo after he suffered fractures to both hind legs when he fell off a circus pedestal. He is one of 19 elephants (three of them babies) who have died at Ringling’s hands during the past decade. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently investigating a July incident in which a young, healthy lion named Clyde died in a Ringling train car while crossing the Mojave Desert in 109°F heat.
    Here are some of the powerful messages that PETA’s grand prize winners sent to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus:
    A 12-year-old from Norridgewock, Maine, wrote, "I love … clowns and balloons, but the people who act as clowns have a choice for their career. The elephants you use for your acts don’t have that choice."
    A 13-year-old from Van Nuys, Calif., observed that "if children knew how much pain and torture these elephants went through they would stop visiting your circuses."
    An 11-year-old from Lexington, S.C., pleaded with the circus, "Please stop the separating of elephant babies and their mothers. All living things deserve to have a mother. They need their mother to love them and teach them the things they need to know in order to survive in life."
    "More and more kids are becoming aware of what goes on behind the scenes at the circus, and they are voting against it by refusing to go," says Patricia Trostle of PETA’s Education Department. "A circus with animals is the last place on Earth to take a child who loves animals."
    For more information, please visit PETAKids.com

    ~

    Elephant Appreciation Day(tm)


    Elephant Appreciation Day
    September 22, Every Year
    About Elephants, Elephant Anatomy, Echo of the Elephants, Elephant Photos, Elephants, Elephant Day Dances, Elephant Day Cake, Elephoot Cookies, The Elephant Poem,Elephant Mask, Elephant Day Flags or Posters, Elephant Day Badges, Elephruit Salad, Elephant Jokes, Craft, Coloring Page, Recipe, Game, Activity, E-Card
    Elephanteria.com
    Homeschooling.com

    ~

    Tamed Pachyderms Become Bengal's White Elephants
    India News, Kolkata, Sep 20, 2004 (IANS)
    There is a sudden glut of elephants bred in captivity in West Bengal, and the state's cash strapped forest department is finding it difficult to maintain them. There are 76 of them now in the state's various reserve forests stretching the state's means, but the authorities have allegedly ignored opportunities to "gift away" some of the animals to other states and countries. The elephants are a drain on the resources till they reach the age of 8-10 years or six ft in height when they can be put to use, local reports said. Trained elephants are usually used to patrol forests, carry tourists on jungle safaris and capture wild animals, particularly untamed elephants. These animals live in the forests of Jaldapara, Buxa and Gorumara in north Bengal with their trainers. Forest officials said these trained elephants were breeding fast and it was becoming difficult for them to maintain them. The forest department has identified more than a dozen elephants from the 76 now available that could be given away to others, but the government reportedly hasn't moved on the suggestion. "It requires a lot of money to maintain elephants bred in captivity. Besides, a large number of trained manpower is needed to train these animals," a forest official said. One option is to give away the animals to others needing them. And there are quite a few takers at home and abroad.

    ~

    Mysore Zoo Elephants Poisoned
    MYSORE, DHNS:
    The IAHVB report states that the zoo elephants died due to acute haemorrhagic enteritis and acute respiratory distress caused by toxemia. The susipicion of foul play in the deaths of zoo elephants Ganesha and Roopa has proved right. The laboratory reports have confirmed that the elephants were killed using a strong chemical poison (zinc phosphide). The two elephants, which died on September 4 and September 7, 2004 respectively, had acute haemorrhagic enteritis and respiratory distress because of the poison.

    ~

    Thousands of Elephants Still Killed for Ivory
    About 4000 elephants are being killed illegally each year to feed worldwide demand for ivory, say two new studies published ahead of a major international meeting in October. The studies also report a “surprise result” that, for the first time, the biggest markets for ivory are in Africa rather than Asia. And embarrassingly for Thailand, the country hosting the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting, the Thai authorities are singled out for lax controls on international ivory smuggling.

    ~

    Tusk, a Musical
    The plight of endangered elephants is at the core of Tusk, a Musical, playing Sept. 18-30, 2004 as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). According to its creators, "Tusk is not 'children's theatre' but entertainment for all ages. It is a universal story of humanity and survival told by a family of elephants taken from their home in the rainforest and forcibly turned into circus performers. Tusk is a compelling story of social significance that will challenge your sense of humankind." The story "is told by a company of actors who never become elephants, but engage the audience through the use of shadows and silhouettes," according to production notes. "This evocative and powerful musical is an absorbing and thought-provoking journey enhanced by the audiences' imagination." Creator Norman Rea said in a statement, "The musical tells the story of mankind through a family of endangered elephants. It's the story of all of us and the universal struggles of life." Director and co-book writer Steven Yuhasz said, "Tusk follows a family of elephants from the rainforest as they struggle to survive separation, slavery and loss as circus performers. It also shows the parallel between our lives and those of the elephants." The writers consulted Carol Buckley,
    Director of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee
    during the creation of Tusk, a Musical.
    TuskFlyer.pdf

    ~

    Update:
    Soraida has named the calf Auro because he was born at dawn.
    KRAMPRAI, Kramprai's Baby Boy
    I am delighted to bring you this good news.
    After KRAMPRAI's arrival at FAE's Elephant Hospital on 20/04/2004, we had staff on shifts to watch over her 24 hours. On Friday 17th September around 5.00 p.m., Kamprai showed sign. After twelve hours, at 5:00 am. on Saturday 18th Sept., she was in labour and delivered a healthy male baby at 6:16 a.m. The new baby weighs more than a hundred kilogrammes with 91 cm. in height. He has five nails on each front foot and four nails on the hind ones. His mother accepts him and is feeding him all right. I have attached his photo here.

    Kramprai's Baby Boy
    Best regards,
    Soraida Salwala
    FAE

    ~

    April 15th, 2005
    Bella
    Zoo's baby elephant euthanized

    Bella
    The Houston Zoo's baby Asian elephant was officially named Bella.
    Sept. 11, 2004

    Baby Bella

    Mother: Shanti
    Father: Thai
    Date of Birth: August 17, 2004

    ~

    Years ago I had a picture of a small child with her arm around an elephant, it was from a greeting card. I thought it was so sweet I posted it on my site. Sometime later, Carol Buckley of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee wrote to me and told me that this poor animal had been beaten and chained in order to make it "sit" on the stool. I took that picture off of my site and apologized to Carol and all elephants everywhere, then and now, for not seeing the exploitation, and in fact, furthering it. I told her I would not forget this lesson and would pass it on and I did. Carol accepted my apology and was happy that I was using it as a learning tool. Now, years lated, I see another wretched picture turning up...same elephant..the one who was chained and beaten so that parents could pay money to have their childrens picture taken with an elephant.
    The new picture and poster have to do with a movie about a book about an elephant named Modoc.
    ~ Kevin Costner: A Man and His Elephant Actor-director Kevin Costner is going out on a limb--or a trunk, as it were--with his next project. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he is in negotiations to direct and possibly star in Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived, described as a cross between Black Stallion and Forrest Gump. Intrigued? The film tells the joint biography of a man, Bram, and his elephant, Modoc, both born in a small German circus town on the same day in 1896. Bram was the son of an elephant trainer, and Modoc was the daughter of the trainer's prize performer. The boy and the elephant grew up side by side, and when the Wunderzircus and its animals were sold to America, Bram stowed away on the ship to avoid being separated from the elephant. ~
    I don't care about the movie or the book, what I care about is this horrible picture. The one I removed from my site. The one that showed a little girl instead of a little boy. It has now become a poster.

    News Story: August, 2004
    Ricardo, an eight month old Asian Elephant with Ringling, was euthanized after breaking two legs from falling from a 19-inch pedestal. The elephant was euthanized. (Ricardo was chained and beaten while being trained to SIT on the pedestal.) And so it goes, on and on.

    ~

    Asian NGO’s Unite to Stop Live Elephant Trade from Thailand

  • Dear friends:
    I have just returned from Tokyo to give a keynote address on the subject above at the first international workshop held by ACATF.
    The ATTACHED FILE is a summary of my speech for the press release.
    Sincere regards,
    Soraida Salwala

    ~

    Poaching Ruled Out in Ugab Elephant Tragedy
    THE suspected poaching of a desert elephant in the Ugab River was ruled out on Friday after the injured elephant cow was darted and treated by a vet. It was found that the cow was suffering from stab wounds inflicted by elephant tusks. She was too weak to get up after the treatment and died soon afterwards. The circumstances surrounding the injuries caused to the cow are baffling elephant experts.

    ~

    IFAW Moves to Curb Elephant and Rhino Poaching in Garamba Park
    NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 11, 2004
    IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare announced today that it will work with ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) to reduce poaching in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
    In recent years the park has faced significant challenges, including poaching from armed Sudanese elements and lack of resources, resulting in a significant loss of wildlife. The elephant population has been decimated from 11,000 in 1995 to 1,453 in 2003. The park is also the last refuge of the northern white rhino, which are the rarest sub-species of large mammals on earth. The rhino population was reduced from 1,500 between 1960- 1965 to an estimated 100 individuals today. Covering 4,900 square kilometers, Garamba is located in the northeast corner of the DRC and supports a major population of elephants.
    IFAW

    ~

    The Elephant Sanctuary in TN
    Monday August 9, 2004
    Delhi has been released from her quarantine
    and has access to the habitat.
    To Carol & Scott
    Thank You!

    Delhi
    You Go Girl!
    With all the love in the world!

    DELHI
    Delhi is a 57-year-old elephant who was stolen from her wild home in India and sentenced to a miserable life of confinement and beatings.
    For the last 30 years, Delhi has been with Hawthorn Corporation—a company that provides elephants to circuses. After receiving PETA’s photos and videos, which documented Hawthorn’s neglectful treatment of Delhi, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an investigation and filed charges against the company for federal Animal Welfare Act violations.
    Delhi suffers from osteomyelitis—a painful bone disease that is the most common cause of death among captive elephants. Last November, authorities seized this beautiful elephant because she was in imminent danger from lack of veterinary care. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee came to Delhi's rescue, her health has greatly improved. She now enjoys leisurely days grazing in the sun, playing with toys, and napping on a shady hillside.

    ~

    ~URGENT~
    Chained Hawthorn Elephants
    Funds Needed to Save Hawthorn Elephants
    Deadline August 15, 2004
    "The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is standing ready to receive as many of the 16
    Hawthorn elephants as funding will permit.
    We have immediate barn space for Lota and Misty,
    both TB (tuberculosis) positive.
    We have secured temporary housing for 4 more elephants.
    Unless additional housing can be secured we are unable to accept
    more than 6 of the Hawthorn elephants."
    Learn more about the Hawthorn Elephants
    The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee

    ~

    Detroit Zoo
    CHICAGO
    For Wanda and Winky, this fall will bring a new home, warmer weather, and spacious grounds. For visitors to the Detroit Zoo, it will mean the loss of a big - several wrinkled tons, actually - attraction.
    Source:csmonitor.com

    ~

    Eleven Elephants to Return Home
    KUALA LUMPUR
    June 13, 2004
    Eleven elephants, caught by a wildlife trader and destined for zoos in China, will soon be returned to their natural habitat. Thanks to swift action by the Sabah Government, the Bornean elephants will be released at various locations in the State next month. The animals had been trapped because they were said to be damaging farmers’ crops, by a known wildlife trader last year, but international organisations questioned the motive for the animals’ capture. Local and international conservationists were also enraged when the trader was granted an export permit to send the elephants to foreign zoos. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (Cites), trading in elephants for commercial purposes is prohibited. This then led to the intervention of the State Government which announced that the elephants would be released into the wild instead of being exported.
    Source: New Straits Times

    ~

    Resolution Unanimously Passed To Send SF Elephants to Sanctuary
    Date: 6/8/2004
    Vote Comes as Zoo Stalls on Moving Elephants; Over 1,500 Zoo Patrons Endorse Elephant Transfer
    The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today unanimously passed a resolution calling for the last two surviving elephants at the San Francisco Zoo to be transferred as soon as possible to an elephant sanctuary in California. The vote comes as the zoo continues to drag its feet on transferring the elephants, claiming it will take up to four months to choose a sanctuary for them.
    The resolution states: "that the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco urges the San Francisco Zoological Society to transfer ownership of and relocate elephants Lulu and Tinkerbelle to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary and to immediately bring in representatives of the sanctuary to the zoo to begin the transfer process."
    The resolution highlights the PAWS sanctuary, where elephant habitats far exceed federal and zoo industry standards and personnel have extensive experience treating elephants debilitated from years in captivity under severely inadequate conditions.
    "We commend the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for its leadership and humanitarianism in demanding the transfer of the long-suffering elephants from the zoo to a more appropriate environment," said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, president of In Defense of Animals. "Now it's time for the zoo to stop stalling and move quickly to transfer Tinkerbelle and Lulu to the PAWS sanctuary. Continuing to confine these obviously ailing elephants in their tiny zoo lots is not only inhumane, it is also a continuing embarrassment to the City of San Francisco."
    Over 1,500 Zoo patrons have signed a petition endorsing the prompt transfer of the City-"owned" elephants to the sanctuary. The Zoo has been under fire since the death of two elephants in less than two months at the zoo. Calle, an Asian elephant, was euthanized on March 7. Maybelle, an African elephant, was found collapsed in the zoo yard on April 22. She died a few hours later.
    Despite pressure from various San Francisco Supervisors and concerned citizens, Zoo management has acted slowly in moving the elephants to a sanctuary that can provide a more spacious and naturalistic habitat. Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo has even gone so far as to suggest that he must investigate the credibility of the PAWS sanctuary, when, in fact, San Francisco Zoo personnel have visited its facilities and had extensive discussions with PAWS directors, the USDA has certified PAWS' operations, and several other zoos have transferred elephants to the California refuge.
    The elephants at the SF Zoo have for years suffered from degenerative health conditions caused by the inadequate Zoo environment. In the wild, elephants travel up to 50+ miles a day and live 60-70 years. At the SF Zoo, elephants are held in lots of less than 1 acre with cold, damp and foggy weather. The Zoo has a history of elephants dying prematurely: Calle died at 37; Maybelle died at 43, and in 1999, Penny died at the age of 41. A 1999/2000 city performance audit characterized conditions for elephants at the San Francisco Zoo as "especially poor."

    ~

    5/20/04
    Raja the Elephant to Become a Father

    ~

    May 20, 2004
    Detroit Zoo to Free Elephants on Ethical Grounds

    May 20, 2004
    Detroit Zoo Elephants Leaving Town
    Zoo Officials Say Michigan Cold, Snow Too Much For Animals

    Big Giant Shovel courtesy of JodysJungle.comRingling Bros. Is Key Player In Survival Of Asian Elephants
    May 17, 2004
    Source: chattanoogan.com

    ~

    Calimero
    Calimero, Bull Elephant

    The Elephants in Basel Zoo

    Elephant Encyclopedia

    ~

    Probe Ordered Into Elephants’ Deaths
    The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has ordered an investigation into the deaths of two Thaiborn elephants that died after being sent to a zoo in China. “I am still not convinced by the initial report that suggests the elephants died because they could not adjust to a new environment,” the department’s directorgeneral Somchai Pienstaporn said yesterday. He said veterinarians had been dispatched to China to conduct autopsies on the elephants. The two elephants, which died in February, were among eight pachyderms being flown to China for a show in a local zoo there. A report earlier hinted that the large mammals might have died of an overdose of tranquillisers given by unqualified people during a flight after they appeared upset and stressed out. Robert Mather, the representative of the World Wildlife Fund in Thailand, yesterday commented that elephants sent out of the country for shows never return. “I wonder what has happened to them and whether they are still alive or dead,” he said. Mather called on the government to register elephants as a protected species – a move that would ban the transport of elephants out of the country.
    Published April 15, 2004
    © Nation Multimedia Group
    44 Moo 10 Bang Na-Trat KM 4.5, Bang Na district, Bangkok 10260 Thailand
    Tel 66-2-325-5555, 66-2-317-0420 and 66-2-316-5900
    Fax 66-2-317-2071 Email: Nation Internet

    ~

    Petition to Re-Introduce HR 2929
    The Captive Elephant Accident Prevention Act of 1999
    The USDA made history in November 2003 when it confiscated one circus elephant (Delhi) after it became clear that her life was in danger from abuse and neglect.
    As of March 5, 2004, the well known Hawthorn Corp., who rents circus elephants and big cat acts, surrendered its herd of 16 elephants to the USDA to settle charges of multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
    This petition is to kindly urge Congressman Sam Farr and the other congressional sponsors of HR 2929 - The Captive Elephant Accident Prevention Act of 1999, to reintroduce the legislation (or similar legislation), to prohibit the use of elephants in circuses, traveling shows and rides.
    United States citizens are fundamental to this petition but please show our congress your worldwide support as well. US registered voters and tax payers are also urged to contact your state representatives and senators and urge them to sponsor the legislation.
    Sign The Petition

    ~

    Calle


    Goodbye, Dear Calle
    March 7, 2004

    San Francisco Zoo

    An Elephants Life

    San Francisco Zoo Animal Acquisitions/PDF File

    Calle & Tinkerbell
    Calle & Tinkerbelle

    grape vine

    RETIRE MAGGIE FROM ALASKA ZOO
    Sign Petition

    ~

    ELEPHANTS..BALTIMORE..DOLLY & ANNA
    Baltimore Zoo Reaches $1 Million Fund-Raising Goal
    Elephants Previously At Risk Of Departure Likely To Stay
    February 24, 2004
    BALTIMORE
    Elephants Dolly and Anna are one step closer to staying in the Baltimore Zoo. The Zoo announced Tuesday that it has reached its $1 million donation goal through gifts from businesses, schools selling candy and private donations. "I think that they [the elephants] enjoy the extra attention and it's going to be a beautiful weekend this weekend so everybody should come out and see them because they'll be outside," Baltimore Zoo president Billie Grieb said.
    Grieb said the donations mean the elephants, which were at risk of leaving due to the budget deficit, will almost definitely stay at the zoo. But she won't commit to an answer until after the legislative session.
    Source and Story

    ~

    Tange & Zula
    Tange (Tan Gee) & Zula, the first African elephants to live at
    The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

    Tange & Zula in Georgia

    ~

    A Week's Drive to Save the Jumbo
    January 30, 2004
    This campaign aims at educating the public on the dangers faced by the animals.
    After travelling approximately 50 kilometres north from the border town of Namanga in the sweltering heat, we finally arrived at the Mishenani gate of the expansive Amboseli National Park. The week WAS set aside by the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 12 countries to educate, create awareness and campaign for animal species facing problems in the world. The elephant is the animal in focus this year and all of us – 15 children and 14 adults – were keen to watch the elephants as they strolled around the park, unaware that they were the last of their lot.
    Approximately 2.7 million elephants have been killed in the past 30 years in Africa. In Kenya their population stands at 27,000, a sharp decline attributable to the illegal trade in ivory that resulted in the massive killing of elephants in the 1970s and 1980s.
    "Are these really the last elephants to walk the earth?" posed the unoffending children as we got farther into the park and unaccompanied elephants came into sight. To learn more about elephants, we went to the office of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, which was founded by conservationist Cynthia Moss.
    continued...

    ~

    Ndlulamitsi
    Swaziland Elephant

    San Diego Wild Animal Park
    Keepers Preparing for Birth of African Elephant
    1/23/04
    Ndlulamitsi, is one of 11 pachyderms that attracted international attention last year when they were imported from a Swaziland preserve to the United States. A coalition of animal rights and conservation groups unsuccessfully sued to stop the transfer, which was the first involving African elephants in 20 years. The animals are classified as endangered. Zoological Society officials have said the importation was necessary to revive a dying North American breeding program for the species. They also maintain the transfer saved the animals from being killed due to elephant overpopulation in Swaziland. Four of the animals went to the Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. The other seven, a male and six females, are at the Wild Animal Park. Officials at other zoos and animal parks around the country are following the pregnancy of the Wild Animal Park's mom-to-be, whose nickname is Ndlula (pronounced N-doola), because of its implications for the breeding efforts, Andrews said. The calf will also be the first African elephant born at the park in over a decade.

    ~

    Dentists Give Local Elephant a Shiny New False Tooth
    January 2004
    Shanghai Daily News
    Yuanyuan, a 2 1/2-year-old male Asian elephant at the Shanghai Zoo, broke one of his left teeth when playing mischievously last October. The accident resulted in the loss of part of the tooth, which is 6.5 centimeters in length, and the exposure of his gums.
    Yuanyuan during dental work
    Source & Story: english.eastday.com

    ~

    BUNNY
    Four years after packing her trunk for Tennessee, Bunny is 'thriving' at the growing Elephant Sanctuary.
    Courierpress.com

    ~

    ~

    Morakot Gets Dentures
    January 7, 2004
    A toothless old elephant who was slowly starving to death has been fitted with a set of specially made dentures in what could be a world first. The U-shaped denture, 15cm wide and 15cm long, is made of stainless steel, silicone and plastic. It was developed especially for Morakot, an 80-year-old cow elephant at the Chang Phuan Kaeo elephant ground in Kanchanaburi province. Vetinarian Somsak Jitniyom said that without teeth Morakot could not chew her food. She was dependent on injected saline solution, vitamins and antibiotics. The ailing elephant had collapsed four times and finally been fitted with a special support, chains covered with soft hosepipe suspended from a tree. On Monday, Morakot was sedated and fitted with her new teeth, Mr Somsak said. Her dung would be watched to see if she was now able to actually chew her food. Mr Somsak said Morakot's dentures could be a first in Thailand or even in the world.
    Source: Bangkokpost.com

    ~

    Elephants' Intelligence Complicates Captivity
    January 5, 2004
    During the summer of 2001, Motti Nissani, a researcher from Wayne State University, conducted a series of experiments at the Detroit Zoo exploring the intelligence of elephants. The zoo's two female elephants, WANDA and WINKY, showed they were able to puzzle through intricate problems to get a reward. Elephants in the wild have a complex social structure, living in family groups dominated by a matriarch. They roam over vast areas and may even communicate with each other through low-frequency sounds. Given elephants' intelligence and their complex social and family lives, officials at the Detroit Zoo are puzzling over how to best keep elephants in captivity while addressing their needs. The issue seems to boil down to a single question, said Ron Kagan, the zoo's executive director: If you can't keep elephants in the best possible conditions for them physically, socially and mentally, should you be keeping elephants in captivity at all?

    ~

    Elephant Ride Ends in Horror
    January 4, 2004
    A couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary by going on a two hour elephant ride, were swept off a 24-year-old elephant which ran into a tree on the banks of the Zambezi River in Zambia. The elephant's handler managed to bend forward quickly enough not to be hit by the branch that knocked the passengers off. The injured couple had to be evacuated by air to South Africa from Zimbabwe, where they were unable to get medical treatment because of a power failure.

    ~

    Delhi
    The Elephant Sanctuary's newest resident, a 57-year-old Asian elephant confiscated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month, suffers from severe osteomyelitis with infections in both feet.
    According to Carol Buckley, co-founder and co-director of The Elephant Sanctuary, “The news is devastating. But now we will focus on making Delhi comfortable.” The goal of Delhi’s treatment is to stop the spread of infection. “We want to keep the infection from spreading into the bones of her fore legs. Delhi will receive antibiotics for the infection and painkillers to manage the pain,” Buckley stated. There is no estimate as to how long Delhi might live.
    tennessean.com/Delhi's Condition
    The Elephant Sanctuary/Delhi's Condition

    Delhi the Elephant
    Wonderful and Unexpected News
    The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is Delhi's new home!

    Delhi at The Elephant Sanctuary

    Saying an Asian elephant at a Richmond-area circus-training farm was in imminent danger, federal authorities took the rare step of confiscating the animal and shipping her to an out-of-state sanctuary.

    KNOXNEWS.com

    HAWTHORN CORPORATION OWNER JOHN CUNEO
    said Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had NO JUSTIFICATION for taking Delhi, a 57-year-old elephant he has owned for 35 years. Cuneo and his wife, Herta, said they have spent $50,000 on veterinary care for Delhi during the last 20 months, since the federal agency first raised concerns about the elephant's health.

    Delhi arrived at
    THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY

    in Hohenwald, Tenn., about 6 a.m. Sunday, November 23, 2003, with severe infections in her feet, (among other things..jj) said the sanctuary's founder and executive director,
    CAROL BUCKLEY

    Summary of Charges Against Hawthorne Corp. (Including Lota)

    Hawthorn/Cuneo
    APHIS
    Joyce/Hawthorn/Cuneo/USDA animal welfare charges
    Nicholas/Cuneo/21 day suspension

    IDA
    Lota/Hawthorn/Cuneo

    Circuses.com
    Hawthorn/Cuneo
    Hawthorn/Cuneo/Tuberculosis

    CNN
    Elephant Abuse/Neglect/Cuneo

    CAPS
    Joyce/Tuberculosis/Cuneo

    PAWS
    Hawthorn/Cuneo

    The Elephant Sanctuary: Delhi's Diary

    ~

    (If you think that this is a satisfactory solution, think again.)
    Arna No Longer Alone
    "Arna now has a new friend. Her name is Gigi and is a retired elephant from Ashton's circus which has now moved away from using exotic animals. Gigi became solitary as well after her two companions, Abu and Tanya, died in the last nine months. Reports are that Arna and Gigi are getting on well and communicating with each other. This must be such a wonderful improvement for Arna to no longer be so desperately lonely.
    The enormous pressure put on Stardust circus from everyone's support for the campaign and court case has, no doubt, helped Arna and now Gigi. The cruelty case involving the distress to Arna caused by the circus in December 2000 is still yet to be finalised when the Downing Centre court lists it in accordance with Supreme Court Justice Windeyer's Orders after we won the Appeal.
    But the campaign is not over. Though we welcome this great improvement for Arna the campaign to ban all circuses which have wild animals continues and the animals to be housed in sanctuaries (which we have in Australia) where they can live the rest of their days free from abuse and totally unacceptable environments."
    Source: animal-lib.org.au
    8/30/03

    ~

    TAMMY

    photo courtesy of Trish Kirk

    Staff, volunteers and members of Performing Animal Welfare Society are mourning the loss of Tammy, a 53-year-old Asian elephant, who had lived at the PAWS sanctuary on Simmerhorn Road the past eight years. "Prior to coming to PAWS, Tammy had been the victim of 40 years of torturous training, dragged to the ground with ropes and chains and beaten as part of her training routine," Pat Derby, PAWS' founder and president, said in a prepared statement. "When she was not in training, she lived on chains on cold, wet concrete floors," Derby said. "When we finally rescued her and brought her to PAWS, I thought she would not survive another year; she was frail and thin and very depressed." PAWS has established a "Tammy Fund" that will be dedicated to preventing the practice of capturing and training elephants for entertainment and to rescuing other elephants like Tammy, Derby said.
    Lodinews.com
    GALT, Calif., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Tammy, one of four Asian elephants living at the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in Gault, Calif., has been euthanized after suffering a fall. The Sacramento Bee said the 53-year-old Asian elephant named Tammy was put to sleep last weekend after staff members were unable to get her to her feet after she fell.
    Washingtontimes.com

    ~

    PAWTUCKET
    8/23/03
    Blackstone Valley residents will be given an opportunity to say their
    proper good-byes to Fanny the elephant.

    Fanny/Tara

    Aug 20, 2003
    Fanny/Tara
    It is with great sadness that The Fund for Animals announces the passing of Tara, one of our beloved elephants at Black Beauty Ranch. Tara was 59 years old. Tara, an Asian elephant, began her life as a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephant. However, she tended to wander off while parading through the different cities visited on tour. This, of course, posed a danger to Tara and the public and she was given to a small municipal zoo in Rhode Island. Once there, Tara was kept in a windowless barn, chained by her ankle, for ten months of the year.
    Source & Story:
    Black Beauty Ranch

    ~

    Born Free
    Born Free Foundation/EleFriends

    ~

    PROJECT ELEPHANT
    This petition was created to protest the horrific TORTURE AND DEATH of a young Bull Elephant that began on February 5th, 2003 by an indian elephant handler known as Parbati Baruah and her husband who is the director of Project Elephant. .....
    A wild young male elephant was targeted and chased by a group of men employed and directed by Parbati Baruah and her husband, SS Bisht who, for over the last 10 years, receive funds by the Indian government to manage Elephant herds throughout the country under the name Project Elephant. The bewildered elephant was shot with a tranquilizer gun and its head was tightly bound by thick rope to prevent movement. The animals’ legs were drawn and quartered and tied to trees. As he screamed, his tusks were cut off with hacksaws. Still alive, he struggled in vain but was left unable to free himself from the thick ropes that had now cut into his skin. For the next eighteen days, he suffered from his injuries and without food or water until he died. This gruesome incident was captured on film by Mike Pandey and his crew who were working on a research project also commissioned by the Indian government. The footage has being distributed to gain support in lobbying the Indian parliament to instate humane elephant relocation and transition methods in addition to conducting an investigation in the horrific torture and death of this Elephant.

    PLEASE, please sign this petition

    ~

    Mela Shikar, by which hunters, riding two tame elephants, chase a herd into an open space, target an elephant and surround it until it can be lassoed and dragged out of the herd.

    ~

    Flora & Flossie
    Update

    May 17, 2003
    Flossie and Flora's new home has loads more space and other elephants to meet
    Black Country elephants Flossie and Flora are settling in to their new life in France. A month ago the mammoth pair were shipped abroad from Dudley Zoological Gardens in a specially constructed container to join an eight-strong herd of African elephants at the Planet Sauvage wildlife park near Nantes.
    Zoo chief executive Peter Suddock said Flossie, aged 35, and Flora, 15, were showing positive signs of integration with the other herd members.
    Flossie, who weighs more than five tons and three-ton Flora, a former circus elephant, left the zoo on April 9 and were accompanied throughout the journey by a vet and three senior keepers.
    From the cramped elephant house where they lived at Dudley Zoo, Flossie and Flora now enjoy a 15-acre dedicated paddock area with a lake and modern accommodation. The other elephants include an 18-year-old male and a baby. Flossie had been at Dudley since 1976 after being brought to Britain as an eight-year-old. Flora arrived in 1998 from Chipperfield's Circus. The zoo had originally hoped to build a new £400,000 elephant house and increase its herd to seven, but new rules on keeping elephants increased the cost to more than £800,000. Instead a decision was made to find a new home for the pair and after a two-year search across Europe, 200-acre Planet Sauvage was chosen.
    Source & Story: The Elephant Sanctuary

    ~

    ANOTHER TINY ORPHAN FROM LAIKIPIA
    Welcome Little Ol Malo

    Ol Malo

    Date: 4/30/2003
    sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
    Jody@JodysJungle.com
    25TH April, 2003 late afternoon, and a phone call from "Rocky" Francombe of Ol Malo Lodge in Laikipia, alerting us that her husband, Colin, had gone out to rescue a young elephant, whose lone tracks had been spotted by the Ranch workers. It was too late to initiate a rescue, so we asked that the calf be confined for the night, not fed any milk, but, if possible given rehydration. A short while later, we were told that what they thought was a bull calf had been brought in, was safely ensconced in a padded room, but was too strong to be safely handled and was bellowing loudly! We felt for the Francombe's, who faced a noisy night...
    Ol Malo's Story

    ~

    Ghana Hosts Meeting on Illegal Killing of Elephants
    On Monday, April 28, 2003, delegates from Africa and Asia met in Accra to begin a two-day meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) to discuss the long-term management of elephant populations. Read the GhanaWeb Article

    ~

    CITES
    CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

    ETIS
    ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) Emerged after the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties as systems for tracking illegal activities involving elephants.

    MIKE
    MIKE (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants) is now the approved instrument for tracking the situation on the ground in elephant Range States across Africa and Asia.

    Cites Species Photo Gallery
    "Some 30,000 species are subject to CITES protection, so it would be difficult for us to show photos of them all. However, all the main groups of species are represented here, in particular the ones most commonly traded."

    ~

    Judgment Day Finally Arrives in the Tuli Elephant Abuse Case!
    After nearly five years of legal wrangling, the Tuli elephants case has finally reached a resolution. The owner and a former employee of African Game Services, an animal dealer that had muscled 30 elephants out of the Tuli region in Botswana in 1998 and then brutally trained them in South Africa, were found guilty on April 7 of violating the South African Animals Protection Act. The verdict marks an end to this very public case of elephant cruelty. The HSUS's Richard Farinato was with the Tuli elephants almost from the beginning. In this essay, Farinato discusses his role in the landmark case, and how he thinks it has shaped the nature of captive elephant management.
    HSUS

    Elephants Wail After Death at Gifford Zoo
    Syracuse, April 27, 2003
    When an elephant dies at Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, there's a wake in the big barn on Tipperary Hill. Keepers and staff mourn; the town mourns. Mostly, though, the survivors in the herd mourn. Chuck Doyle fumbles for a word to describe the cries he heard from his elephants in the barn two weeks ago Saturday when we lost three year old Preya
    Source: © 2003 The Post-Standard

    Save Lota @ Circuses.com

    Summary of USDA Charges Against Hawthorn Corporation

    LOTA April 20, 2003
    Source: The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee
    SAVE 53 -YEAR -OLD ELEPHANT IN EMERGENCY CONDITION
    The Council for the Retirement of LOTA has written a petition to ask for the public's support in an urgent matter concerning the desperate plight of a 53 year old elephant named Lota.
    In 1990 the Milwaukee Zoo was forced to release its elephants after overwhelming evidence of the zoo's egregious elephant abuse was exposed to the public. All of the zoo's elephants were retired to sanctuaries, except LOTA.
    Lota was prevented from being retired. "Despite a public outcry, the Milwaukee Zoo DONATED Lota to the Hawthorn Corporation. The 1990 publicized transport depicted 40-year-old Lota being beaten onto a trailer, falling and urinating blood." The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) remained silent.

    Although chronically ill, Hawthorn leased Lota to circuses. Like all circus animals, Lota traveled year round in unheated boxcars, deprived of water, food and ventilation - perpetually in chains and shackles. As a result of her deplorable life and living conditions, Lota contracted a human strain of tuberculosis and became severely emaciated.

    Hawthorn Corporation is located in Richmond, Illinois. Hawthorn trains and leases elephant acts to circuses and facilities worldwide. For over a decade, the USDA has cited Hawthorn for failure to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as defined in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Hawthorn's litany of violations frequently relate to its gross "failure to provide veterinary care" and "physical abuse of elephants."
    Hawthorn is continuously cited by the USDA and has accumulated $72,500 in USDA penalties. The USDA has twice suspended Hawthorn's license. Hawthorn has repeatedly failed to comply with prescribed tuberculosis treatment protocol.. As a result, four Hawthorn elephants have died from a human strain of tuberculosis. Despite decades of flagrant animal cruelty and negligence, the USDA has made no attempt to revoke Hawthorn's license.

    LOTA IS NOW 53 YEARS OF AGE.
    She has been enslaved for her entire life. In June 2001, Lota traveled with Walker Bros. Circus. USDA documents state that Hawthorn was cited for "failure to provide veterinary care to Lota who was excessively thin, with a protruding spine and hip bones and sunken in eyes." The inspector wrote, "It appears that Lota has lost a significant amount of weight."
    The rest of Lota's story

    Hawthorn continues to demonstrate an arrogant defiance of USDA directives and federal law. Nevertheless, the USDA has not revoked Hawthorn's license. This long history of USDA inaction is disgraceful and untenable.

    John Cuneo, CEO of the Hawthorn Corporation, has rejected all offers to retire Lota to a sanctuary. In view of this, we wrote to ELLEN MOYER, THE MAYOR OF ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, asking for her assistance. Mayor Moyer wrote to Cuneo requesting the humane retirement of Lota. Several sanctuaries are willing to provide a permanent home for Lota.

    We ask that you join Mayor Moyer in demanding the immediate and permanent retirement of Lota and the permanent revocation of Hawthorn's license.

    Lota is worthless to Cuneo from a monetary and performance standpoint. MOREOVER, LOTA WAS DONATED TO CUNEO. By publicizing Lota's plight, we believe that Cuneo will realize that it is in his favor to release Lota. The strength of Mayor Moyer's request has started the momentum and we believe that Cuneo will release Lota based on a successful petition campaign.

    If Lota is not currently traveling, she is warehoused in Hawthorn's compound in Richmond, Illinois. The facility has been cited by the USDA. IF LOTA IS NOT RETIRED IMMEDIATELY, SHE WILL CERTAINLY DIE. It would certainly be in Cuneo's favor to retire Lota - rather than for her to die at Hawthorn. Lota's death would create additionally bad publicity for Cuneo.

    With proper medical care and a natural environment, Lota can still enjoy freedom (albeit man-made), companions and the security of a permanent home - all of which she has been denied.

    Please help secure this majestic individual's long overdue retirement by signing our :
    PETITION

    What else we can do:
    After signing the petition, Contact John Cuneo.
    Ask that he retire Lota now.
    John Cuneo
    23675 W. Chardon Road
    Grayslake, IL 60030
    Tel: 847 546-0717
    Fax: 847 546-3354

    Contact the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and urge her to seize Lota now and immediately retire her to a sanctuary.
    Urge Secretary Veneman to permanently revoke Hawthorn's license. Your taxpayer dollars support the USDA.
    The Honorable Ann M. Veneman, Secretary
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
    Washington, DC 20250
    Tel: 202 720-3631
    Fax: 202 720-2166
    Email: agsec@usda.gov

    Lota The Elephant Sanctuary

    ~

    LOTA

    Lota in chains

    Lota’s Life Sentence
    1998
    Fifty years ago, Lota was just a young calf when she was snatched from the wild, transported to America, and sold to Milwaukee Zoo. Like many wild animals in captivity, Lota’s life of monotony and boredom resulted in her frustration and aggression. Unable to cope, the Zoo gave Lota to the Hawthorn Corporation, who rent elephants to circuses. Chains and ropes were used to drag a terrified Lota from the concrete world she had known for 40 years and eyewitnesses report her screaming in fright as she was beaten. Forced to travel and perform, Lota’s health began to decline and two years ago she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. As she fought to survive, Milwaukee County began the fight to regain custody of Lota so she could be retired to
    The Elephant Sanctuary, Tennessee
    Latest news on Lota in the
    Born Free Latest Project News
    More Lota from The Elephant Sanctuary
    ~For years people have been fighting for Lota's freedom, I used to have articles and updates about her on this site, but the years went by, there was no longer anyone to write to, nowhere to seek help. It looks like Lota will never be free. Out of sheer hope and frustration, I am pleading for Lota to be set free again, even though there seems to be no one listening...jj

    ...

    Subj: Alert: San Diego Zoo - Great Elephant Betrayal
    Date: 4/10/2003
    From: alerts@idausa.org

    To: Jody@JodysJungle.com
    Protest San Diego Zoo's Great Elephant Betrayal
    Four aging and sickly African elephants who have lived for decades at the Zoo and Wild Animal Park are about to be repaid for their long service in captivity by being shipped off to other zoos this weekend. The elephants, including 53-year old Peaches, one of the oldest African elephants in captivity -- are being dumped by the Wild Animal Park in order to make room for new, young elephants the park is attempting to import from the wild in Swaziland. Peaches has been at the Zoo and Wild Animal Park for 50 years! She and the two other females -- Wanki (age 34), Deteema (age 34) -- are being exiled to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo where the cold climate will only exacerbate the health problems from which these aging elephants suffer. The fourth elephant, Chico, a 36-year old male who has lived at the Zoo since 1971 - is scheduled to be trucked to Tyler, Texas where he will be used for breeding purposes. Elephant experts warn that physical stress of being dragged into trailers and hauled thousands of miles across state lines could actually kill the elephants. The adjustment to a new environment after spending most of their lives at the Zoo further endangers these poor elephants.

    WHAT WE CAN DO:
    Please write AND call the San Diego Zoo today to express your outrage at this terrible betrayal of these elephants, who were stolen from their homes and families as babies and used for decades by the San Diego Zoo for so-called educational purposes.

    Douglas Myers, Executive Director
    San Diego Zoo
    P.O. Box 120551
    San Diego, CA 92112
    Tel.: 619-231-1515
    Fax: 619-231-0249
    E-Mail: DMyers@sandiegozoo.org

    Also contact the Trustees of the Zoological Society of San Diego

    Thompson Fetter, President
    6820 Country Club Drive
    La Jolla, CA 92057

    Yvonne W. Larsen, Vice President
    1405 Savoy Circle
    San Diego, CA 92107
    858/451-8281

    David S. Woodruff, Ph.D., Secretary
    4626 Valinda Point
    San Diego, CA 92130
    858/794 -7211

    Berit N. Durler (Mrs. Thomas), Treasurer
    2166 Linwood Street
    San Diego, CA 92110
    619/260-0780

    Frank C. Alexander, Trustee
    2841 Caminito Merion
    La Jolla, CA 92037
    858/459-0947
    frank@calex.com

    I am writing to express my outrage at the San Diego Wild Animal Park's plans to relocate four African elephants in order to make room for new elephants whom the Zoo will capture from the wild. These elephants have lived nearly their whole lives at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. One of them, Peaches, has been held at your park for nearly a half century! The cold and callous plan to reward these elephants for their long "service" to your Zoo by shipping them off to other facilities is an outrageous betrayal of the elephants and the public trust.

    ~

    Upkeep of Captive Elephants
    Thiruvananthapuram, India February 6, 2003
    Alarmed by the frequent instances of elephants running amok and goring mahouts to death, the Kerala government proposed to shortly come out with a set of rules on management and upkeep of captive elephants which will include penal provisions to check maltreatment of the animal.
    "This is for the first time in the country such rules are being framed, addressing a whole of range of issues relating to ownership, upkeep and welfare of elephants," E K Bharat Bhushan, secretary, forests and wildlife, said here. The rules would be made under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which currently applied to wild animals only, but a section of the Act would be extended to captive elephants also, he said. "When you own a vehicle, you are governed by certain rules like road fitness, pollution control etc, absolutely essential for the safety of the owners as well as the public. The same logic is applicable in the case of elephants, used in large numbers for temple festivals and for manual work in Kerala," he said.
    Within the last fortnight, two mahouts were gored to death by elephants in Ernakulam district. There have been several instances of the pachyderms going berserk reported recently with animal rights campaigners blaming cruelty towards the animal as the main reason for their wild reaction. The rules will specify norms to be followed when elephants are paraded during festivals, transported by foot or by vehicles, medical check-up and provision of water,fodder and accommodation and training of mahouts, Bhushan said. It will also lay down how to handle them at times of 'masth', during when pachyderms mostly turn violent, he said. Parading elephants for hours on end during festivals and putting them to prolonged physical toil would be strictly dealt with, he said.
    The rules would specify the type of harness to be put on the animal and chains with sharp edges or nylon ropes would not be permitted. Tuskers with festering ankle sores caused by iron chains is a common sight on Kerala roads. The rules would prohibit elephants being made to walk more than three hours or 30 km at a stretch. Those taking them for long treks would have to carry reflectors during night in the front and rear of the animal for road safety. An elephant hit by a truck near Kollam died on the roads of the injuries an year back. Keeping elephants without being fed sufficiently would be made an offence. An underfed elephant recently barged into a vegetable shop near Kochi to satisfy its hunger.
    Source & Story: IndiaTimes.com

    ~

    The Underground Elephants of Mount Elgon, Kenya

    The Underground Elephants
    This photograph is available as a poster from Born Free

    On Mount Elgon, Kenia, the only natural source of salt is found in deep, natural caves in the side of the mountain. The elephants, (these are Savannah Elephants (Loxodonta africana africana), not the forest elephants of West & Central Africa) enter these caves, as whole families with youngsters in tow, and walk as far as 150 metres into the pitch darkness to find a salt seam in the rock. They then excavate the mineral-rich rock with their tusks, chipping off rough chunks and eating these hidden gems as a vital dietary supplement.
    In 2001 BornFree started funding the Mount Elgon Elephant Monitoring Team.

    ...

    Thailand's Elephant "Crushing" Ritual

    By Jennifer Hile
    for National Geographic Today
    October 16, 2002
    It's a sound not easily forgotten. Just before dawn in the remote highlands of northern Thailand, west of the village Mae Jaem, a four-year-old elephant bellows as seven village men stab nails into her ears and feet. She is tied up and immobilized in a small, wooden cage. Her cries are the only sounds to interrupt the otherwise quiet countryside....

    Thailands Baby Elephants Tortured for Tourists
    Thailand’s Treatment of Elephants Stirs International Outrage. Thailand has a dirty secret that it doesn’t want tourists to discover—a recipe for turning baby elephants into tourist attractions.

  • Still-nursing baby elephants are literally dragged from their mothers, kicking and screaming. They are immobilized, beaten mercilessly, and gouged with nails for days at a time. These ritualized “training” sessions leave the elephants badly injured, traumatized, or even dead.

  • Each baby broken and sold to one of Thailand’s 40-plus elephant camps brings between $2,000 and $4,650 dollars.

  • In just four months, one village subjected approximately 10 baby elephants to this ritualized torture and abuse, also known as “Phaajaan.” Phaajaan means “to break the love between two” (e.g., between mother and baby). While the mahouts claim to have killed “only one” elephant, it is estimated that half of all elephants subjected to the breaking process do not survive.

  • In Thailand, villages unite to torture baby elephants in order to “break” them. First villagers tie the elephants’ legs so they can’t run and then they cage their bodies so the elephants can’t flinch from the blows.

    What we can do: Write to

    Prime Minister Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin Shinawatra
    Government House
    Thanon Nakhon Fathom, Bangkok 10300
    Thailand
    E-Mail: prommin@thaigov.go.th

    Ambassador Sakthip Krairiksh
    Royal Thai Embassy
    1024 Wisconsin Ave. N.W.
    Washington, DC 20007
    Fax: 202-944-3611
    E-Mail: thai.wsn@thaiembdc.org

    PLEASE let the tourism authority know that you won’t travel to Thailand until laws are enacted to protect elephants:

    Mr. Somsak Thepsutin, Chair
    Tourism Authority of Thailand
    Le Concorde Building
    202 Ratchadaphisek Road
    Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310
    Thailand
    Fax: 011 66 26941220-1
    E-Mail: ogdep@tat.or.th

    (There is an undercover video available at PETA, I don't recommend watching it.)
    Source: PETA Action Alerts October 18, 2002

    ...

    Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home
    Sri Lanka

    Elephants and Born Free
    Born Free believes that wildlife belongs in the wild, and the ETH (Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home) is the only facility on Sri Lanka that is designed to return orphans to their natural home. The elephants living there are not exploited for tourism or for domestic uses - they are simply treated as well as the facilities allow until they are ready for release. This combination of welfare and conservation, maintaining the dignity of these beautiful animals, is what makes the ETH stand out as a prime candidate for Born Free's support. FLORA & FLOSSIE

    Earlier this year, the ANIMAL DEFENDERS offered to relocate the two Dudley Zoo elephants, Flora and Flossie to the Performing Animal Welfare Society, PAWS in California. The sanctuary, visited by CAPS last year, would offer the elephants a more natural habitat, considerably more space, and an appropriate climate. PAWS also have considerable expertise in handling institutionalised or abused elephants.
    FLORA was originally snatched from the wild in South Africa and then used in the circus. At Mary Chipperfield Promotions, the ADs filmed her being beaten with pitchforks and metal bars.
    FLOSSIE the other elephant at Dudley is 34 years old and has seen various cage mates die. She now suffers from arthritis.
    PAWS Email: info@pawsweb.org

    ...

    HAKIM
    The Late Hakim  Photo taken by Terry Palmer on 8th August 2002

    "Hakim, one of our most imposing but gentle bull elephants, was casually shot for no apparent reason in front of our Save the Elephants researchers by an unknown and hidden person, on the 14th of August, 2002...4 kilometres west of Samburu National Reserve."
    Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Chairman, Save The Elephants

    After examination by a vet his shattered shoulder was judged to be a mortal wound and he was euthanazed by the authority of KWS on the 16th August. He is remembered as one of the tamest elephants of Samburu who would often wander within touching distance of a vehicle silently rocking back and forth as he contemplated the human observers.

    grape vine

    SISSY

    Sissy is no longer afraid of water
    The following is an excerpt from Matthew Scully's new book "Dominion" The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy.
    The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee is my favorite place in the whole world and I consider Sissy to be "My" Sissy Sassafrass. So I was extremely pleased to find this in the "Justice and Mercy" section of the book....jj

    "My favorite animal-rescue story comes courtesy of the Elephant Sanctuary near the town of Hohenwald, Tennessee--800acres of green pastures, forests, and spring-fed ponds. They have four elephants living there and recently took in a thirty-eight year old female named Sissy, who in November 1998 had been videotaped undergoing a beating at the hands of keepers in the El Paso Zoo-this on top of many prior miseries that began with seperation from her mother at age two. When the tape was aired, the El Paso City Council voted to turn her over to the Elephant Sanctuary, responding to the public outrage that always follows when such things are revealed. The sanctuary then posted daily reports on Sissy's journey to her new home and the elaborate production required to get her there. The founders of the sanctuary, Carol Buckley and Scott Blais, supervised the expedition. Two truck drivers named Alton Henson and Michael Knowles volunteered their services. A giant trailer was donated by a family named Pankow in Nashville. The Comfort Inn donated rooms for the drivers and caretakers. The caravan had to stop every few hours just to make sure Sissy was doing okay back there, and on the sanctuary's special "Road Trip!" page we got little updates like Jan. 24, 11:30 am-Stopped to offer Sissy a drink of water. She ate a few carrots and appeared calm...Jan. 25, 2:30 pm-Just outside Little Rock, Scott spied some river cane growing alongside the road. He stopped and cut some for Sissy. She made a quick treat out of the entire pile... Jan.25, 5:30 pm-Sissy drank gallons of water, finished off the last of her river cane and is bedded down for the night. All is well... And so on until the joyous arrival, whereupon the enormous daily costs of feeding, housing and veterinary care will begin. All told, an awful lot of work and money and trouble just to make one elephant happy. Yet one has the impression that everyone involved is pretty happy about it themselves. That cheerful voice we hear from her helpers-so far away from the whispering of men lying in wait for the kill-is the voice of humanity, of men and women pouring their passion and labor and ingenuity into the relief of innocent affliction. Seeing her at peace, they can truly know that "all is well" at least there, and share with one another the gladness of bringing comfort and care where once there was only hurt and fear. None of us knows just where Sissy or any creature may stand in the grand scheme, wher her ultimate value may be or what her ultimate destiny. We know only that the world today is a slightly gentler place because she was given a home, and river cane for the journey, and that's something."

    I have had this Amazon link on my second page for several years, thought it would be a good idea to put a copy of it here!

    If you should buy anything at Amazon.com
    from this link
    JodysJungle.com In Association with Amazon.com
    all proceeds will go to
    The Elephant Sanctuary
    in Hohenwald, Tennessee

    grape vine

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    Zambia Seeks to Lift Ban on Ivory Trade
    May 15, 2002 ENS
    The move, if implemented, will allow the African country to sell 17 metric tons of ivory and recapitalize the incapacitated Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), the country's legal wildlife entity. But Zambia's proposal has raised fears that criminal gangs of poachers might use a legal ivory trade as a mask for their illegal activities. Poaching has been controlled to some extent since the ban came into effect in 1990 because of the lack of an ivory market.

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    15 More Elephants Killed in Kenya
    Toll Hits 25 in April
    By Jennifer Wanjiru
    Environment News Service

    elephant

    NAIROBI, Kenya, April 19, 2002 (ENS)
    Hit by a fresh wave of poaching, Kenyan authorities have deployed a massive hunt for poachers who this week left 15 elephants dead in the Samburu game reserve. This brings to 25 the number of elephants killed this month in Kenya. In early April, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) reported the slaughter of 10 elephants in the expansive Tsavo East National Park by what was described as a "well organized gang of ivory poachers." This is the first instance in which a rifle-propelled grenade has been recovered, a weapon that could be used to bring down an aircraft or cause massive human casualties, police said. The killings are the worst in Kenya since it stepped up efforts in the 1980s to halt poaching. Experts fear the new killings could be to build a stockpile of ivory in anticipation of the November meeting of the Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) being held in Santiago, Chile. During the CITES meeting, South Africa and Zimbabwe are expected to renew their demands for the lifting of the ban on commercial ivory trading.
    Story and Pictures

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    Elephants Make Epic Crossing
    April 4, 2002
    Elephants are rarely seen around the shores of Lake Baringo in North West Kenya. So it came as something of a surprise, when a group elephants following a long forgotten migratory route appeared last week. It was an even greater surprise when they plunged into the waters of the lake and began to swim ...

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    Poachers Kill Ten Elephants in Kenyan Park
    NAIROBI, Kenya, April 4, 2002
    Ten elephants were gunned downed by a well organized gang of ivory poachers using automatic weapons in Tsavo East National Park, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has reported.
    Environment News Service

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    Travels With Tarra
    by Carol Buckley
    Co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee
    What happens when you fall in love with a three-foot-tall, 700-pound infant covered with thick black hair? Carol Buckley was a college student, studying exotic animal care, when she looked up from her homework one day to see a baby elephant walking past her house. The local tire dealer had bought the tiny elephant as a promotion gimmick for his store and was taking her for a stroll. Carol quickly volunteered to help care for and train Tarra, tried to meet the baby elephant's emotional and social needs, and ended up buying her.
    Illustrated by dozens of photographs, Carol's 28-year odyssey with Tarra is the fascinating story of a lifetime commitment to an elephant, but it also asks us to reconsider the real need of captive wild animals.   Hardcover   Designed for grades 3 - 7   and all adults   40 pages   $16.95
    Order Form

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    New Centre in Lampang To Look After Elephants
    Sunday 17 March 2002
    Onnucha Hutasing
    A national elephant keeping centre will soon be set up in Lampang to improve the quality of life of Thai elephants and accommodate working and roaming elephants. Chanat Laohawatana, director of the Forest Industry Organisation, said the Lampang elephant institute and elephant conservation centres nationwide would be completed by the end of this month. The new institute and other centres will focus on assistance for wandering and working elephants, he said, and will have a capacity to serve about 1,000 pachyderms in the first three years.
    Source: Bangkok Post

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    Feds Block Marine World Elephant Import
    SOURCE: In Defense of Animals, News Release, March 2002
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has rejected an application by Six Flags Marine World to import two young, endangered Asian elephants from India, In Defense of Animals (IDA) announced today. "We applaud the federal government for rejecting Marine World's bogus attempt to import endangered elephants by claiming a conservation purpose," said Elliot Katz, DVM, president of IDA, which has spearheaded opposition to the proposed import. "The contention that Marine World would save wild elephants by airlifting two babies halfway across the world and dropping them into the middle of a busy amusement park is outlandish and we are pleased that the government recognized it as such."

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    GAMBIAN IVORY SMUGGLER SENTENCED TO PRISON
    LOS ANGELES, California, March 6, 2002 (ENS)
    - A Gambian national has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for conspiring to smuggle 66 pieces of ivory from Nigeria into the United States last spring. For full text and graphics visit: Environment News Service

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    Baby Elephant Helps Rescue Mum From Swamp
    Tuesday 5th March 2002
    Sunthorn Pongpao
    An elephant broke free from her tether to rescue her calf from a Thai swamp. But Pang Soi Thong became stuck in the mud after pulling Lamyai out with her trunk. Police then spent two hours trying to free her with a crane. When that failed, the calf jumped back in with scores of villagers to haul the elephant to safety.
    The Bangkok Post reports 23-year-old Pang Soi Thong escaped from her chains and leapt into the swamp after hearing screams from her two-year-old. But she was unable to climb out again after freeing Lamyai from the swamp near Sai Ngam village in Muang district. Vet Alongkorn Mahannop gave the stranded elephant some pain killers and police spent two hours trying to lift her out with a crane. Lamyai eventually jumped back into the swamp and helped villagers pull her mother to safety. Mr Alongkorn said: "The mother is healthy. She is safe because of the power of love. It is natural for elephants to express love between mothers and children."

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    SOMALIYA

    Somaliya

    Somaliya suffered from extensive burns on her head and back, caused by contact with the caustic sap from an exotic jungle tree. Despite expensive treatments, her condition had not improved; finally it was discovered that her mahout was applying her medication incorrectly. A visit to The Millennium Elephant Foundation's small, permanent clinic was the beginning of a Somaliya's journey back to health. There, she was started on a course of antibiotics and de-worming medication. The skilled, gentle hands of MEF's mahouts and veterinarian instantly reassured and calmed the elephant that had endured weeks of constant pain and ineffective treatments. After the initial treatment, the mobile unit arranged to visit Somaliya's worksite to provide follow-up care and monitor her progress. Thanks to the ongoing care of the mobile clinic, the aging elephant soon healed. When a painful case of footrot flared up, the unit was once again called to her aid. Now fully recovered from her ordeal, Somaliya is enjoying semi-retirement. Occasionally she still ventures forth into the forest to gather the sweet tasting branches from kitul trees as a treat for the other working elephants. Her new mahout reports that she always manages a few bites for herself as she makes her way home.
    Thank you to all of WSPA's supporters! Your contributions enabled WSPA to provide the funding and expertise that saved Somaliya's life.

    The mobile unit is a joint collaborative project between WSPA and The Millennium Elephant Foundation (MEF), an organization dedicated to improving the lives of captive elephants.

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    RHANEE

    Rhanee gives herself a dustbath

    January 2002,
    Rhanee, the female asian elephant, featured in the high profile Chipperfield trial at the start of 1999, was chained for most of the day by a front and a back leg. To add to this nightmare, she was beaten with shovels, metal bars and whips. The elephant keeper hit Rhanee with almost any weapon that came to hand, sometimes raining down blow after blow. A video camera installed in the barn captured the violence.
    Please Sign The Petition To Save Rhanee

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    Elephant Appreciation Day(TM)
    September 22nd every year
    Elephanteria

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    ARNA Court Case - day 2
    5/14/2002
    The now internationally famous ARNA court case began yesterday. The first challenge came early, with the Circus Council vigorously opposing the Animal Liberation video evidence being played in court. This vital tape was obtained on 30 December 2000 and records ARNA'S meeting with the three visiting elephants - her first encounter with her own kind since 1996 - and her reaction when they were abruptly trucked away. After a tense hour and a half, the tape was admitted and the Hearing continued. Yesterday the main witnesses were Angelo Giakoumatos and Mark Pearson, both of whom videod the rally and its aftermath. Tuesday saw the first of the three expert witness being examined - UK Veterinarian and wildlife expert Dr Simon Adams. Wednesday will see the continuation of the examination of expert witnesses.
    Source: Animal Liberation NSW

    FREE ARNA
    MAY 13, 2002
    Australia
    The landmark Court Case brought by Animal Liberation against the NSW Government and Stardust Circus will begin on May 13, 2002. World-wide publicity and support continues to pour in. But ARNA the Elephant is still imprisoned in Stardust Circus, still wretched and still solitary. We must yet again make our reasons and demands clear to the Government, to Stardust and to the public.
    1. It is ILLEGAL in NSW to keep a solitary elephant.
    2. ARNA is miserable on her own.
    3. ARNA should without delay, in company with the also solitary female asian elephant BURMA from Taronga, be relocated to Dubbo Free Range Zoo, these two animals to live out their lives in the company of each other and with the comfort and relative freedom of this free range zoo. In 2001 Taronga received a very large grant of public money from the government to enlarge Dubbo. Therefore suitable changes can be made without delay to accommodate ARNA and BURMA and there is no possible reason why the transfer should not take place very early in 2002.

    Note for your Diary
    Hearing of the case Animal Liberation v. NSW Government and Stardust Circus, begins MONDAY 13 MAY 2002

    If you would like to donate to Arna's Court Case Fund
    click here

    Arna is a female elephant who has existed at Stardust Circus New South Wales, without others of her own kind for over five years. Her partner BAMBI died in mid 1996. Arna is in her mid forties and has been in a circus most of her life. One the most irritating aspects of the ARNA campaign is that Stardust Circus is getting away with breaking the law.
    Please write to:
    Minister Richard Amery,
    Department of Agriculture,
    Level 17, "Parkview"
    157 Liverpool Street, Sydney. 2000.
    Telephone: 02 9372. 0123
    Fax: 02 9372. 0199
    Email:   aamery@parliament.nsw.gov.au
    Please be polite, you are speaking for Arna, but don't be put off by standard responses like "our experts have decided she's happy" and "we're trying to find another elephant for her." Insist that she be removed completely from the circus and rehomed and that circuses with animals should be banned.

    Elephant Experts/Arna
    "Elephants duplicate humans emotionally. They are highly social, highly sensitive, highly gregarious intelligent animals with a strong sense of family, lifelong friendships and a sense of death. They grieve the loss of loved ones deeply and they can suffer deep life threatening depression in captivity. The worst punishment we could possibly inflict on a fellow human being is lifelong imprisonment and solitary confinement. It is equally as immoral and blatantly unjust and cruel to subject an elephant to this. As we begin a new millennium, it is surely time that we humans begin to extend compassion and understanding to others that happen to have the misfortune to end up in a circus environment having been forcibly wrested from Nature and denied the chance of companionship, family and a quality of life simply for the so-called entertainment and enjoyment of humans. There is nothing entertaining, educational or pleasurable in viewing an unfortunate captive living alone and denied even the friendship of another of the same species. In my lifetime I hope to see laws banning circuses from keeping live animals, and particularly long-lived species such as elephants. It is my professional opinion that the Stardust circus elephant Arna should be removed from that situation instantly."
    Daphne Sheldricke M.B.E.
    The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

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    Belfast Zoo, Ireland
    I don't know the name of this elephant but look at her face, look at her surroundings,
    she lives alone and like Arna, rocks herself back and forth.

    Belfast Zoo Elephant, name unknown

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    SAHIB MAYIBUYE

    September 2002, I requested an update:
    "The following appeared in the Mail & Guardian end-January (see www.mg.co.za). Sad but true. Keep up the good work with your site.
    Fiona"
    January 25 2002:
    Dithering by provincial conservation officials has led to the continued exile of Sahib, the mighty African bull elephant adopted by a KwaZulu-Natal community after they read about his plight in a European circus. KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife finally agreed to allow Sahib to come home in August last year, after Northern Province officials rejected SanWild's application to give him sanctuary. The process took more than 10 months, and by the time Sahib got his ticket home his circus owners had undertaken to send him to a captive breeding programme in Eastern Germany. Though the 20-year-old bull won't be coming home, he will spend the rest of his life in relative luxury compared to the chains, bullying and abuse he experienced during the past 18 years. The European Elephant Group says Sahib and four former circus female elephants will be placed together in a 100-acre enclosure, and they will no longer be handled by humans. The two circuses have also agreed to no longer use elephants in their shows.


    The Mail&Guardian March 16, 2001
    In the 20 permit offices where Northern Province nature conservation officials regulate the management of wildlife, permission to kill and trade in hundreds of wild animals is granted virtually on a daily basis. But don't try to save the miserable life of one elephant. As the would-be saviours of Sahib, a circus elephant, have discovered, it is a lot easier to hunt an elephant than to save one. South Africa has neither a policy nor guidelines to assist in the rescue, release and rehabilitation of wildlife - though wild animals are becoming one of the country's biggest commodities. As the trade in wildlife grows, so we can expect to see more and more orphans in the dire straits in which Sahib found himself.
    Mail & Guardian

    Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg) August 10, 2001 by Fiona Macleod
    "After months of uncertainty over his fate, the orphaned elephant's future is now secure. KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife authorities have given the go-ahead for the return of Sahib, the mighty African elephant bull who has been bullied and abused in a German circus for 18 years. When he comes home, he will be known as Mayibuye (it must return), the name he has been given by the Zulu amakhosi who took pity on the orphaned elephant in exile in Europe. The chiefs and their communities, who are setting up the Royal Zulu Reserve near Empangeni, offered to rescue Mayibuye after they read about his desperate plight in the Mail & Guardian in march. They insisted he should be given the chance to live the rest of his life in dignity in the place of his birth. Sahib Mayibuye was sold to the German circus when he was orphaned at the age of two during a cull in a Zimbabwean reserve from the early 1970s to mid-1980s. Now 20 years old, he is a magnificent creature with huge tusks. As captive elephants tend to become rebellious when they get older, he has been kept in chains for the past two years. The plan to bring Mayibuye home was hatched when his trainer announced last year that he wanted to retire. The circus owners said they wanted to get rid of the elephant, even if this meant shooting him. Mayibuye will be homed in a fenced-off sanctuary of 100 ha and KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife will help monitor his progress. Elephant experts say "rebellious" captive elephantss soon calm down and live out normal lives after they have been released into large, open areas. The Born Free Foundation, a United Kingdom-based animal welfare organization, has offered to foot the bill for Mayibuye's return. For Rozanne Savory, co-founder of the South African Ethical Conservation Network who has been brokering his return, Mayibuye's ticket home marks a new milestone in local conservation efforts...

    In November, 2001 I requested an update on SAHIB MAYIBUYE ...
    11/21/2001 Subj: RE: Sahib elephant
    From: fionam@mg.co.za (Fiona Macleod)
    To: JodysJungle.com
    "...Groups involved are still trying to track down Sahib in Europe and negotiate for his return. Fiona"

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    TUMAI
    The RIDDLE of TUMAI
    RIDDLE me this..
    Can you train an elephant with a bulldozer? Or will the elephant die?
    Tumai in death, picture of an abused elephant.

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    MAGGIE

    Maggie

    Alaska Zoo in Anchorage is presently home to Maggie, an African elephant. She lives alone at the zoo. CAPS has been told that her indoor accommodation, in which she spends much of her time, is a barn, with a concrete floor. The zoo’s previous elephant, Annabelle was alone so Maggie was brought by the zoo board to keep Annabelle company. Maggie was then a 2 year old orphan from culls in Zimbabwe. Her family would have been slaughtered around her, and after such a traumatic experience she would have eventually been sold on to the zoo, enduring hours of travelling before reaching her final destination. The elephants did not hit it off, and Annabelle eventually died from foot problems (probably because of the substrate that she was kept on as this is the biggest killer of captive elephants in zoos) Now Maggie is alone. Local residents are trying to persuade the zoo to allow Maggie to go to a sanctuary.
    Please give your support.
    UPDATE:12/27/01
    Maggie's situation has not changed.
    Contact:
    Tex Edwards
    Director of Alaska Zoo
    4731 O’Malley Road
    Anchorage AK 99516
    Telephone 907 346-2133
    Fax 907 346-2673
    Ask that Maggie be allowed to go to an elephant sanctuary in North America.
    Ask also that the zoo adopts a ‘no more elephants’ policy.
    Captive Animal Protection Society

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    I stand corrected:
    Original Article
    29th October 2001
    Rajaji National Park
    Indian rail authorities plan to put electronic whistles on trains to warn elephants to move off the line for the entire 20km of track that runs through Rajaji National Park park. Sixteen trains use the line each day, 17 elephants have been killed this year.
    Source: Ananova

    The Correction
    Date: 1/28/2002
    It is not correct that these whistles have been ordered or fitted. Sonic devices are still being researched. I am on a Task Force looking at ways to solve this railway track problem. Also incorrect is that 16 trains use the track (the number is 24) and that 17 elephants were killed last year - the figure is 18 elephants in 15 years. The last was a calf which was killed last Saturday. Please visit my website IndianJungles.com
    for details on this railway track problem at Rajaji.
    Thank you for a wonderful website.
    - Nirmal Ghosh
    Trustee, The Corbett Foundation

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    ELEPHANTS WEEP OVER 7 HERD MEMBERS KILLED BY TRAIN
    By Syed Zarir Hussain
    November 16, 2001
    Guwahati (IANS) - Frequent trumpeting and shrill cries echoed until midnight Thursday as a herd of wild Asiatic elephants trooped together to mourn seven pachyderms mowed down by a speeding train in Assam. "It was a sight to be seen. About a hundred elephants were circling the seven pachyderms that lay dead near the railway tracks, with tears rolling down the eyes of the herd," said Khagen Sangmai, a top official of the Digboi police station in eastern Assam. "The herd was almost traumatised by the deaths with frequent trumpeting and the whole sight was indeed emotional," Sangmai told IANS by telephone. A speeding inter-city passenger train was derailed Thursday evening near Bogapani, close to the oil township of Digboi, about 550 km east of Guwahati, Assam's principal city, with the engine ramming against a small herd squatting on the tracks. Six elephants, two adults and four calves, were sliced into pieces almost instantly, while another calf succumbed to injuries later in the night. Sangmai, accompanied by a police patrol, was among the first to arrive at the accident site Thursday night. "No sooner the accident took place than a herd of about 100 elephants came from nowhere and were behaving like human beings mourning the deaths of dear ones," said Rantu Das, another police official. "The way they were crying over the deaths, it brought tears to the eyes of the policemen and villagers." Police and forest guards took at least six hours to chase the mourning herd of elephants before clearing the tracks and lifting the derailed train engine with cranes. "We feel the herd is somewhere near the accident site and may come again to mourn," said Das.
    Source: Indo-Asian News Service / Rense

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    ELEPHANTS TO LEAVE LONDON ZOO
    October 2001
    London Zoo's three elephants, DILBERTA, MYA & LAYANG-LAYANG, involved in the recent crushing to death of a keeper, are leaving the capital, ending a 170-year presence at the Regent's Park site.
    Full Story

    Update: March 7, 2002
    The three elephants have been settling into their new home and getting to know their companions: Whipsnade's three female elephants Anna, Lucha and Kaylee, and Emmett, the bull elephant.
    Whipsnade

    Chris and the dung donators
    Anna

    Following what was a complicated birth of a stillborn calf on Monday 1st July, and despite the best efforts of the veterinary staff and the continual attention of her dedicated keepers, Anna died at 8am on Thursday, July 4, 2002.

    LONDON (AP)
    Chris Ofili, the artist whose dung-daubed portrait of the Virgin Mary angered religious leaders and the mayor of New York, is coming to the aid of the elephants that supply raw material for his art. The Zoological Society of London said Thursday that Ofili had agreed to donate proceeds from the sale of one of his paintings to elephants at the Whipsnade Wild Animal Park in Dunstable, northwest of London. Three of the elephants at the Whipsnade park - MYA, LAYANG-LAYANG and DILBERTA - lived until recently at the London Zoo and have supplied Ofili with dung for a decade. The 34-year-old Ofili won the Turner Prize, Britain's most famous art prize, in 1998. His multilayered and detailed work incorporates elephant dung in every painting.
    www.bravo.ca

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    Pachyderm Paper
    Source: The Sunday Times
    Story filed: Monday 22nd October 2001
    New factory will turn elephant dung into paper
    An elephant conservation centre in Thailand is to start making paper from elephant dung. The Lampang Elephant Conservation Centre is opening its own factory to manufacture paper in bulk. The centre, at Lampang, looks after more than 80 elephants and all profits will go towards their care. Each elephant produces several kilos of fibrous dung a day, which is said to be ideal for making paper. Nipakorn Singhaphutharakul, who runs the centre, told the Thai Rath newspaper that experiments at producing paper had proved very successful. Contacts had already been made with businessmen at home and abroad and several had shown an interest in buying the paper. It is not the first original money-raising venture at the centre which also sells abstract art painted by its elephants.
    With the new project factory located in the estate, the elephants, in effect, pay for their keep for the rest of their lives, as it is their dung, that is used for the paper. Should they need more raw material in the future, being situated close to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage would be quite an advantage.
    (This seems like such a good idea, but, will I look back on this one day and realize it was the start of factory farming?)

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    A young elephant in Thailand played with police after pulling off a driver's windscreen wiper.

    Young elephant plays with police after 'vandalising' car

    A juvenile elephant jumped out in front of a womans vehicle late at night on October 11, 2001, then proceeded to play a little prank on the frightened driver. The woman told police that she had been visiting friends in Nong Prue. At the end of the function she was driving out of the side street when a small elephant darted in front of her vehicle and blocked her way. She said the small elephant began thumping and violently shaking the car with its trunk. She said the elephant’s slapping trunk knocked loose one of the windshield wipers, and then it continued to shake the car. She said she finally decided to run for safety hoping the elephant would be more interested in the car than her. After police and rescue personnel arrived on the scene, and as the woman was describing the incident to them, the small elephant continued to play with members from the rescue unit, chasing them and slapping them with its trunk. The mother elephant stood off in the distance, keeping a watchful eye but not intervening. The young elephant was obviously a frisky but friendly character, and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying its unexpected visitors at the late night hour. Police eventually cleared the way for the woman to exit the area. The two elephants were most likely from the nearby Thin Chang Thai elephant park, and investigating police said it was lucky that no injuries or serious damage resulted from the playful antics of the young elephant.

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    SAME
    Source: Ananova
    16th October 2001

    Mine-injured elephant to get false foot
    An elephant which lost a foot after stepping on a landmine is being given a false one. A German prosthetic limb designer is to give Same her first fitting in Sri Lanka next month. She was wounded almost two years ago and had been fitted with a crude replacement. Specialist Manfred Herwig is working on the project with local vets. He was told about nine-year-old Same by his colleague Anette Walter Kilian who saw her during a visit to an elephant orphanage. Mr Herwig says it was an unusual request but he is happy to do it, adding: "At first I thought it must be a joke." He is putting the finishing touches to the foot which has to carry Same's two and a half ton frame.

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    KUMARA


    the elephant involved in the tragic death of Keeper Richard Hughes at Chester Zoo in February 2001 has been euthanised. The following statement has been supplied by Chester Zoo. "With great regret, Chester Zoo veterinary staff euthanased Asiatic elephant Kumara, following many months of ill health. Kumara had been under veterinary care for severe episodes of colic in her gut and for chronic foot and joint infections as well as arthritis...."
    Captive Animal Protection Society
    PO Box 43, Dudley, DY3 2YP, England
    Phone/fax 01384 456682
    Email: info@captiveanimals.org

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    The Twins, JIM & JUM

    Story filed: Sunday 18th March 2001
    Twin elephant depressed as sister dies

    Jim & Jum

    Thai zoo keepers say one of their elephants is depressed after the sudden death of her twin sister. The female elephants Jum and Jim were the only pair of twins known to exist in captivity. Jum, the older twin at seven years, six months and 17 days, became violently ill with unexplainable symptoms last week and died on March 16. The zoo's director says Jim is refusing to eat and he is becoming increasingly concerned about her health. Thai TV showed Jim desperately trying to lift Jum with her trunk as her sister lay dying.

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    The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

    Orphans
    Orphan Elephants

    The trust has been involved in a myriad of different activities to help conserve the wildlife. Most notable is its work with the elephant and rhino orphans, which Daphne Sheldrick over many years has dedicated her life to seeing that her husband's vision continues. With an incredible history, this Trust has had some real impact in the lives of elephants and rhinos, who would have normally died due to human poaching and surrounding population conflict. Also, by supporting many different programs the Trust has had a great impact in conservation, rearing elephants and rhinos, and many worthwhile activities.
    Plus, there are pictures, pictures and more pictures of baby elephants and rhinos.

    Orphan Love    Makosa

    Elephant Orphans     Rhino Orphans

    About Rhinos

    Makosa 2002

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    Asian elephants, both 24-years-old, gather for their wedding at a ceremony on Valentine's Day February 14, 2001 in Ayutthaya, the ancient former capital of Thailand
    BBC News
    14 February, 2001
    Thailand's, and possibly the world's, largest honeymooners are relaxing after a Valentine's Day double wedding witnessed by hundreds of onlookers. Two elephant couples enjoyed a traditional Thai ceremony with all the trimmings before being whisked away to a post-nuptial retreat. Wearing flowing gowns with embroidered red hearts, the grooms, Plai Bua Ban (Blossoming Lotus), 24, and Nam Peung (Honey), 24; and their two brides, Pang Oi Ja (Sweetheart), 24 and Plai Nga Thong (Golden Tusk), 15, received presents of bowls and fruit and exchanged dowries in gold and silver bags carried by two orphaned baby elephants. Afterwards, their mahouts (keepers) and local officials helped all four mark trunk prints on giant marriage certificates before posing in front of temple ruins for the official wedding photographs. All four left in trucks for the Ayutthaya Elephant Shelter, about 70km (44 miles) north of Bangkok. An American volunteer at the shelter, Brian Clarke, said: "They'll retire to the honeymoon suite, which is in a quiet corner of the Royal Elephant Corral." He said the event was intended to raise awareness of Thailand's national animal. The elephant population in Thailand has been falling in recent decades as their use as beasts of burden has declined. The male elephants were brought to the shelter from nearby Pattaya last week to mate with the females who were both in heat. "They've hit it off," said Mr Clarke. "If everybody isn't too tired perhaps there will be a consummation tonight."

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    January 14, 2000
    Nothing to Trumpet About
    Starving in the villages, unwelcome in the cities, Thailand's hard-working national symbol, the elephant, has no place to call home
    By ROBERT HORN
    Bangkok
    Thailand's police have told Khomsan Somphan that if they arrest him one more time, they're going to take away his elephant. Khomsan was nabbed by Bangkok cops near a red-light district for offering tourists a chance to feed sugarcane to his elephant, Srithong (Gold), for 50¢ a handful. It's against the law to bring an elephant into the capital, but Khomsan says he had no choice. There's no work for Srithong in his poor northeastern province of Surin. "At least here she can eat," says the 23-year-old mahout. "Back home there is nothing." That predicament has brought at least 60 elephants and their mahouts to the Thai capital's traffic-choked streets, and Bangkok Governor Bhichit Rattakul wants them all out of his city. He has ordered the police to get tough, but the mahouts don't scare easily. "They've arrested me 10 times already this year," Khomsan says. "They won't take her. They don't want her. What are they going to do with an elephant?" That's a question troubling many Thais. The elephant is their national symbol, but there seems to be no place for the domesticated beast in today's Thailand. When the country was known as Siam, mighty elephants carried its kings into battle and were emblazoned on its flag. Pachyderms still adorn royal seals, temple walls, tourism advertisements, corporate logos--even cans of beer. King Bhumibol Adulyadej keeps 11 white elephants, mystical emblems of a monarch's power, pampered in royal paddocks. But thousands of others face a meaner fate. Their forest habitat has been decimated by loggers, farmers and developers. Their usefulness as menial labor and a means of transportation has virtually been eliminated by technology. So hundreds of mahouts have led their elephants to the cities, where they are essentially reduced to begging. The elephants are not alone in their suffering. Countless rural Thais have also lost their land to dams and development projects, ending up in Bangkok in search of work or to protest in front of parliament. Perhaps, in their own sad way, the elephants are still a meaningful national symbol. That's no consolation for animal-rights activists. "Every year elephants suffer and die in the city," says Roger Lohanan of the Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Lohanan urges people not to feed the elephants so the mahouts won't bring them to Bangkok. The countryside isn't any kinder, however. More than 1,000 elephants slave away in the shadowy world of illegal logging; many are fed amphetamines to make them work harder. When their drug-addicted bodies give out, they are abandoned and left to die. Some have been shot or poisoned by farmers for eating their crops. Others have stepped on landmines near the Burmese border. The relatively lucky ones give rides and perform for the tourist trade. Even this activity, however, is prone to abuse. Gangs slaughter mothers in the wild to capture their babies and sell them to the shows. "If something isn't done, then one day our elephants, like the dinosaurs, will be extinct." says Soraida Sawala, president of Friends of the Asian Elephant, a conservation group. At the turn of the century, there were 100,000 domesticated elephants in Thailand, and many times that number in the wild. Now, there are fewer than 5,000 in all. More than 300 are roaming the streets of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and other cities. It's a hard life. Khomsan and two of his cousins spend their days in a plywood lean-to at an abandoned construction site. Srithong, who is 40 years old and five months pregnant, grazes on brush with six of her kind. As darkness falls, they start their seven-hour trek through Bangkok, pausing near hotels and go-go bars. Before the night is over, they will have walked 20 km. "It's mostly foreigners who feed Srithong," Khomsan says. Most tend to gape upon first spotting her. "They're the ultimate tourist attraction, although I'm not sure the city is good for them," says B.J. Worth, a filmmaker from Whitefish, Montana. Worth, his wife and daughters are all smiles, snapping photos as they feed Srithong. Beer-bellied Western men buy sugarcane for their bar-girl dates who giggle as Srithong plucks the sticks from their hands with her trunk. One Thai man pays to crawl under the elephant's belly for good luck. This night, business is good. Khomsan thinks they may pull in $30. It takes $22 a day to feed Srithong, so the mahout and his cousins will have enough left over to feed themselves--if they don't get arrested again. But they might. Now Governor Bhichit wants to put microchips in the elephants so police can track them down. Not that finding a 3.3-ton elephant lumbering amid the concrete and glass towers is all that hard. "We don't need microchips," says Khomsan. "We need a place to live and work that will sustain us." Until they have those things, the mahouts and their elephants will keep coming to Bangkok. "They can arrest us all they like," Khomsan says, "but I just don't see any other way to survive."

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    Elephants
    are very large and need a lot of space.
    I felt they were getting much too crowded on one page,
    (besides it was taking too long to download)
    so I moved half of them to a new page,
    MORE ELEPHANTS

    gave MOTALA her own page

    & CIRCUS ANIMALS now have their own page.

    circus elephant, between shows

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    Elephants in Musth

    BALARAMA
    The 43-year-old Balarama had recently escaped into the Nagarahole forest area after developing 'masth'

    PHANPHETSILA
    Phanphetsila, a 16 year old male elephant in musth, mauled his trainer to death

    NAVAM RAJA
    Why did Navam Raja run amok and kill his mahout shortly before the Esala Perahera? An authority on elephants says one of the most likely reasons for this kind of behaviour in an elephant is that he could be in musth.

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    Young Elephants Smell Nice!
    New research suggests young male Asian elephants smell like honey to tell their elders they're not interested in fighting. The scent is produced by glands under the eye and is so sweet it is said to attracts bees. Adult males leave the teenagers who produce the smell alone during competition for females. But as the animal matures the smell becomes stinky, telling other elephants it is ready to mate. Bets Rasmussen, from Oregon Health and Science University, studied the maturing animals and says that while the honeyed aroma keeps young males out of trouble, the bad one signals they are ready to fight for sex. Rasmussen told Nature a 25-year old bull in musth "smells like a thousand male goats in a pen". She added: "It's acrid and very penetrating - if you get some on your finger it won't wash off. It really is stinky." For one month each year adult males enter a period known as musth which sees their testosterone levels sore - it is then that the smells become most important. Young males in particular are keen to broadcast their immaturity and unwillingness to fight for dominance and mates.
    Source: Ananova 28th February 2002

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    The Third Well
    (click for pictures)
    From: The Elephant Sanctuary...
    Jody@JodysJungle.com has been an avid supporter of the Sanctuary for some time now. Not only has she provided the funding to drill a well, she has also provided the funds for a solar pump to operate the well. This well will be drilled in Barbara's favorite area of the Sanctuary. It will be christened ~Well Jody~

    Thank you Jody, for your continued support.
    The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee
    8/6/2001
    Many thanks to all of my eBay customers for helping me make this happen!
    animated elephant
    Jody@JodysJungle.com

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    Help support The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee by shopping online at over 252 well-known (Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Gap, J.Crew, OldNavy, Lands' End, Eddie Bauer, JCPenney, Office Depot, Dell, Spiegel, REI, Hallmark, Handspring) online stores.

    Click the link to learn how you can donate to the elephants
    or your own cause every time you shop online.

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    If you should buy anything at Amazon.com
    from this link
    JodysJungle.com In Association with 

Amazon.com
    all proceeds will go to
    The Elephant Sanctuary
    in Hohenwald, Tennessee

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    When I think I will lose my mind because no one is listening, nothing is changing, animals still suffer, people don't care, people refuse to understand...I click over to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.
    Thank you Carol, Thank you Scott.

    BuaJoom - Phang Kaloo - Plai Boonrawd - Mohe - Motala
    Loki - Sahib Mayibuye - Ansel - Goya - Murthy - Makhna
    Mungu - Champakali - Puhlkali - Damini - Champa
    Shahrukh - Amitab - Anand - Phang Lam Duan
    Jim & Jum - Srithong - Navam Raja - Pung Kammee
    Pung Boonyeun - Plai Por - Tipu Sultan - Tyke
    Phanphetsila - Dilberta - Mya - Layang-Layang
    Kumara - Same - Tantong - Pung Ikhe - Tahnee
    Pung Auan & Plai Pooh-Pah - Seedauw Chamlong
    Tumai - Bo Thut - Rhanee - Balarama
    Jokia - Ging Mai - Saen - Joban - Maitai - Phanphetsila
    Somaliya - Mawatha Menike - Yod Doi - Mpala - Plai Somwang
    Hakim - Boon Khum - Muadzam - Morakot - Yuanyuan
    Jokia & Bee-Bee - Saibua - Thongkwaou & Noel
    Plai Tour - Kolakolli

    Meet More Elephants

    tiny elephants

    MORE Elephants...

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