“…The world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago“…Â Elephants are not alone in their struggle to survive. That is why Earth Day has chosen “Protect Our Species” as the theme for their 2019 global campaign. If we care deeply about protecting our … Continue reading »
Dr. Poole, in her letter of support, reflects on the angst experienced by captive elephants and how Billy’s “stereotypic head bobbing … not a behavior observed in the wild … is a coping mechanism for the loneliness, boredom and frustration that characterizes his life in the zoo. His behavior is symptomatic of the enormous frustration … Continue reading »
Since the age of four, when he was dragged away from his mother and elephant family in Malaysia, Billy has been held in captivity at the Los Angeles Zoo. That he has been able to survive, for endless years of his life, both physically and emotionally, is beyond what any elephant should have to endure. … Continue reading »
Dear Elephants: Whew! World Wildlife Day, 3 March 2019, slipped up on us yet again! Yes, we promised to do better, didn’t we? But here we are just in the nick of time. 🙂 Though this year’s WWD theme may be “Life Below Water : For People and Planet,” as always our focus, here at … Continue reading »
Chained and tethered, for apparently her entire life, the female Asian elephant affectionately known as Granny, has recently died. (Her official name was Dakshayani; when she entered into her senior elephant years she was honored with the “Gaja Muthassi,” meaning “elephant granny,” designation.) They say, at the age of 88, she was “the oldest elephant … Continue reading »
Just looking at baby elephant Khun-Seuk’s sweet contented face as he lays on his side napping (at an unnamed elephant orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand) one would not expect such human emotions to shine through. Perhaps in his dreams, his little elephant body & trunk “twitches” and stirs but not enough to interrupt his blissful … Continue reading »
Villagers in the town of Bishnupur, India have been photographed hurtling firebombs at confused herds of elephants . (Elephants who recently roamed these areas as part of their natural habitat.) This in an effort to keep the massive pachyderms from destroying crops and creating havoc on their encroached land. Humans are seen chaotically standing side-by-side, shouting … Continue reading »
On a recent holiday to the island of Bali, splashed across the media, the Kardashian family, including sisters Kim, Khloe & Kourtney, was featured spending time with endangered elephants. With the usual photographers and camera crews in tow this could have been a goodwill mission, a photo op to send the much needed message to … Continue reading »
They were just as excited to meet him as he was to meet them, rushing from the other side of the elephant sanctuary to the protected area where the little Asian elephant was sheltered. And, at Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, Dok Geaw, the orphaned baby elephant the herd was running toward, responded to their … Continue reading »
Coerced by a human trainer perched upon their backs (& adamantly “tugging on their ears“) female Asian elephants at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri, Thailand are forced to perform in swimming tanks. With the crowds cheering them on the elephants dive, completely submerging themselves underwater. Upon surfacing the elephants bob their heads … Continue reading »