One of the best parts about being an African elephant is enjoying the succulent benefits of the marula tree. Named “The Elephant Tree,” (3) (1) for the herds’ dedication to making the trek each summer to savor the “sacred marula fruit” (3) at peak harvest, these special trees attract the elephants. Their remarkable olfactory systems, …
Name: SEEK Name Origin/Meaning: “…named after the indigenous ‘seeki’ tree that is ‘so strong’ the wood is used for ‘walking sticks’ for the community’s elders”. (2) Gender: Male Age When Rescued: one year old Date of Rescue: 31 December 2020, New Years Eve Location of Rescue: Nanyuki Where Now: RETETI ELEPHANT SANCTUARY Namunyak Wildlife …
Ireland has long held a tradition that, on St. Patrick’s Day, in celebration of their global presence and friendships with other nations they take part in the “greening of an iconic structure” (1) within that nation to symbolize their unique bond. In 2016, in Kenya, the sculpture of Ahmed the Elephant was one of those …
‘Look out!’ Marvin cries to the herd. ‘The machines are coming!’ ‘What do we do?!’ cry the elephants. ‘They’ve got Dirk!’ ‘Wait. What’s that sound? It sounds like…’ ‘Machines.’ ‘I can’t get free!’ shouted Dirk ‘Help me!’ “Amelia screams from the launch pad. Waaaaahhhhhhhhhooooo!’ ‘I can do …
In a perfect world all of our elephants would live as elephants in the wild and have the peace of knowing they were not hunted for what is basically their ‘upper incisors,’ albeit ivory.(1) If there were no demand for ivory, there would be no reason for poaching elephants. All reasonable humans realize that. The …
Artist: Addison Size: 2.5 X 3.5 ACEO Medium: Watercolor Colors: light & dark brown teddy bear, with black nose & eyes, red heart, blue green shadow Featuring: Teddy bear with heart on foot! Title: Heart Bear, Original Watercolor by Addison: ACEO Original Watercolor Teddy Bear Painting About the artist: “Hello, my name is Addison Quirk. I like to place …
In the southeast Asian country of Myanmar, formally called Burma, the birth (in July 2022) of a white elephant is being celebrated. With eyes the color of pearls, and the characteristic ‘big ears, plantain branch-shaped back, white hair, distinctive tail, auspicious plot signs on the skin’ and the unique number of ‘claws, five …
In the port town (3) of Dikson, the ‘northernmost settlement’ in Russia, lived a little polar bear named Monetochka. She found herself in serious trouble when an empty tin of condensed milk became stuck in her mouth as the ‘lid clamped down on her tongue’. She had become emaciated as she was unable to eat …
The male elephant was able to tolerate his time in captivity as long as he had his female companion, Saheli. But suddenly one day Saheli died and Kaavan was never the same again. They had spent 22 years together in the Islamabad Zoo and at that age elephants are in the prime of their lives. …
As Elephant Spoken Here turns five today,12 August 2020, our passion for elephant conservation has not abated. For our elephants need us, even more. Over the past several years poignant demonstrations have taken place across the globe in cities like Toronto (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Johannesburg (South Africa) Nairobi, (Kenya, Africa) and in NYC (USA). …
When Lucy the elephant celebrates her 135th birthday (135, you say!) in 2016* she won’t be wearing her crown as the “spokes-elephant” for her more crestfallen, warm-blooded, captive elephant cousins. In fact, Lucy the elephant never accepted that crown despite an earlier offer of assistance from the animal activist group PETA. For with that crown, or … Continue reading »
In much the same way that Linus Van Pelt , in the classic comic strip Peanuts by the late Charles Schulz, felt about his famous blue security blanket so do these sweet baby elephants of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust feel about their “little coats”. Not long after their arrival at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust … Continue reading »
Growing Up Ele : Update on Rorogoi As with every orphaned elephant rescued by The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust there comes a time, or graduation day, when a new stage is reached by an elephant that brings her ( or him) closer to her (or his ) eventual release back into the wild. From that … Continue reading »
Name: ROROGOI Date of Birth: Friday 12 August 2012 Age on Arrival: 14 months old Gender: Female Orphaned Because of: Poaching Where: The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Now at Voi with the Partially Independent Orphans This baby elephant is growing up! See Rorogoi: Growing Up Ele : her Orphan Profile, Photos & a video … Continue reading »
More Lessons Learned From Last Chain on Billie – Learn what Sammy Haddock, a former Ringling Bros. elephant trainer, had to say about the abuse of their circus elephants (& he was once fully engaged in that abuse). This is particularly poignant & heartbreaking: “He saw elephants being beaten who had no idea why they … Continue reading »
Lessons Learned From Last Chain on Billie – Learn about the tricks our elephants were forced to learn and the permanent damage these unnatural positions would inflict upon their elephant bodies. (Treacherous posing such as the “one-legged tub stand” or the act of walking across an arena on their hind legs “would cause elephants to … Continue reading »
When elephant trainer Buckles Woodcock was first sent by John Cuneo Jr. (who later established the Hawthorn Corporation, the equivalent of an elephant’s worst nightmare) to judge the viability of a young elephant named Popsicle for the rigorous life of a circus elephant he sent word that she looked like an elephant he would be … Continue reading »
Name: Pang Noi Thai Name: Miss Little Gender: Female Where Now: Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary Location: near the village of Baan Tuek in Sukhothai, North Thailand Pang Noi : Learn more about Pang Noi at BLES: Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary An Elephant Rescue Pang Noi’s (Thai for Miss Little) journey to BLES (Boon Lott’s … Continue reading »
As all elephant lovers were saddened by the death of Hanako, who was transported to the only home she would know, the Inokashira Park Zoo, as a baby elephant (aged 2), they are also feeling relieved that this elderly pachyderm (“the oldest living elephant in Japan“) no longer has to endure such a solitary and constrained … Continue reading »
Watermelon season is the best time of year (May – October, with the peak months being June, July, and August). And while we all know that we take our chances (on sweetness) when selecting fruit out of season there is nothing more frustrating than hauling the biggest melon home in the middle of the summer … Continue reading »