[That's what most Zoo conditions are.]
Where the elephants
roam,
family means everything!
·
By Carol Buckley
In my work with elephants, I've seen some remarkable things, both in Thailand and around the world.
One case in particular though stands out for me - that of Tina.
Tina, born and raised in captivity, enjoyed a brief period of relative freedom with fellow survivors of captivity at the elephant sanctuary.
When I first met Tina,
she was serving a life sentence in solitary confinement at the Greater
Vancouver Zoo. Born in captivity, the 33-year-old elephant had spent much of
her life alone in a cramped, barren pen.
As the co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary,
the largest natural-habitat refuge for captive elephants in the US, I can assure you
that elephants desire companionship and freedom just as much as you and I do.
For elephants, family is everything. Births
are joyous celebrations, and deaths are mourned. Adults share news and offer
support, while youngsters play together under watchful eyes. Female elephants
stay at their mothers' sides their entire lives.
Tina was born in a captive-breeding programme.
As a mere toddler, she was torn away from her mother and sold to a zoo. By the
time I met her, captivity had taken a heavy toll. Lack of exercise, improper
diet and years of standing on unnaturally hard surfaces caused her to develop
debilitating arthritis and osteomyelitis, a terminal foot disease.
Thankfully, the zoo staff realised that Tina
deserved a better life and rallied to have her retired to The Elephant
Sanctuary in August 2003. Adopted into a family of six sisters, including
Winkie from Myanmar and Sissy from Sri Lanka, Tina finally had a
herd to call her own.
Elephants have a remarkable capacity to create
new families with fellow survivors of captivity.
Playful Tarra became one of Tina's favourite
companions. Sissy, who carried a tyre around with her as if it were a security
blanket, routinely spent time with Tina, especially at night, when she and
Winkie returned to the barn. Winkie, who suffers from post-traumatic stress
disorder, often hung out with Tina under her favourite oak tree.
Tina's magnetic personality captivated her
sanctuary caretakers, all of whom developed a deep bond with her. We watched
with pleasure as she manoeuvred her way into the woods, swatted at butterflies
and played enthusiastically with the plastic 44-gallon drum suspended from an
oak tree.
She trumpeted incessantly, and we often found
ourselves singing along when she broke into song.
We worked hard to heal her feet, watching over
her with caution and guarded optimism. Her positive attitude and strong will to
survive were an inspiration to us all.
Tina soon became the darling of the late-night
"ele-cam", our live-streaming video. Fans tuned in to watch as Tina
savoured her dinner while receiving her nightly foot care. Everyone shared in
her excitement when, following foot soaks, her enrichment toy was filled with
her favourite treat; purple grapes.
Then, in mid-July of 2004, we watched as
Tina's condition worsened. Her osteomyelitis became critical, and managing her
pain became challenging. One week later, on July 21, I watched as Tina slowly
laid down on the barn floor for the first time since her arrival. I knew what
this meant. I begged her to stay, but she just looked at me in her tender Tina
way, and I knew her decision had been made.
She closed her eyes and passed away
peacefully, surrounded by her adopted family of humans and elephants.
Our sorrow covered the sanctuary like a heavy
cloud. The suddenness of Tina's death filled us with inconsolable grief and
unanswered questions. Later, a necropsy would show that a heart problem,
possibly a genetic defect, caused her death.
But we could not escape knowing that two
decades of osteomyelitis had caused her a lifetime of pain.
As we humans busied ourselves with the details
of laying Tina to rest, her herd-mates held a vigil over her body. Tarra was
the first to come in from the habitat to visit Tina. Sissy and Winkie, who had
been her closest companions, spent the entire night and next day standing
quietly over their departed friend.
Visibly distraught, Winkie pushed and prodded
Tina as if trying to get her to wake up.
As Tina was being buried, Winkie and Tarra
stood at the edge of the grave, unwilling to allow the bulldozer to cover
Tina's body with dirt.
Their grief was heartbreaking. Tarra kept
grabbing my hand and guiding me towards Tina in a gesture to "go get
her". All three girls spent the evening and the next day at the grave.
Before they left, Sissy gently placed her beloved tyre on top of Tina's grave
like a wreath.
Tina embodied love and compassion, and I feel
blessed to have known and loved her. Watching her experience the joys of
freedom and friendship was a wonder to behold.
I remember the first time she left the barn
and entered the world of trees and vegetation. Using her sore feet like
shovels, she gleefully flung mounds of dirt onto her back. She spent hours in
the shade of the forest canopy, immersed in nature and savouring her new home.
Later, in the barn, she emanated tranquility. As she munched on fresh-cut
bamboo stalks, she appeared to be miles away, almost as if she were in a dream.
Like Tina, Mali - the Manila Zoo's
lonely elephant - deserves to know freedom and family. Mali has been in solitary
confinement for far too long. Nothing would make Mali happier than spending
the remaining 30-plus years of her life as part of a herd.
Mali does have a second
chance at life: President Benigno Aquino III has issued a
directive stating that Mali's health should be
evaluated and that she should be considered for transfer.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(Peta) has offered to bear all associated costs and the burden of moving Mali
to a sanctuary in Northern Thailand which specialises in rehabilitating Asian
elephants.
The sanctuary can offer Mali everything that the
Manila Zoo can't: Acres of land in which to roam, the care of experts and, most
importantly, friends to call her own.
Carol Buckley is the founder, president and chief executive
officer of Elephant Aid International. She rescues and rehabilitates needy
elephants worldwide and provides them with hands-on care and compassion-based
training.
[Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/325122/where-the-elephants-roam-family-means-everything]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As many of my readers know, elephants have a special place in my heart. When you visit a Zoo or other places with captive elephants, please keep the hardship that these animals have to endure - physically and emotionally - in mind. Please support organizations that work to give captive elephants sanctuary such as PAWS [
www.pawsweb.org] or the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee [
http://www.elephants.com/].
I have worked as an elephant keeper in Thailand at a wildlife sanctuary that at that time cared for 7 captive elephants. These animals had now large grassland to roam, a pond to swim in daily with volunteers scrubbing their back - the highlight for the volunteers and maybe for the elephants as well! The giants were gently and had found peace at WFFT [
http://www.wfft.org/]. For me the experience was life changing. I hope that by sharing stories as the one above and others that have appeared on my Travel TidBits I will raise awareness for the many plights of captive animals, and also raise awareness of the continued habitat destruction in many places around the world. Extinction of animal species will not stop there - survival of humanity is at stake as well.
Til next time,
Meggi
