Sacred Elephants

Celebrating Elephants Day at the Oakland Zoo

 

The Oakland Zoo in Northern California host an annual Celebrating Elephants day every May. The have a few elephant events usually: an evening lecture [click to read about the one I attended in 2006] a charitable dinner [click here to read about that] and a daytime educational event at the zoo.

I haven't been able to attend the daytime event before, but this year was perfect timing for me to take my five year old nephew. He loves animals and going to the zoo, and now that he's got a brand new baby brother, it seems like an especially good time to take him out with his Auntie Jaya for some big boy adventures. Of course, this is all preparation for seeing how well we might travel together someday. I'm hoping I'll be able to take him to Kenya with me for a safari vacation after he graduates high school. That's my dream for us anyways. But as big goals sometimes start small, we packed up our gear consisting of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, cherries, water, camera, and sunblock for a short safari at the zoo.

I remember going to the Oakland Zoo as a child and one of the things that's nice about it is it's small size. We just had a couple of hours, but that's all you need there. It's perfect for small children in that they have fun without coming home completely exhausted.

Where did we head first? The elephants of course. Straight away! We were so excited to see them that I didn't focus my camera very well, but here's the first elephant we spotted.

A nice gentleman saw us taking pictures and offered to take on of me holding my nephew.

 

They had several educational booths up in the elephant area, with information about the bush meat crisis, animal cruelty in circuses, and other important conservation topics. One of the booths that most caught our attention was this lady who was demonstrating elephant pedicure tools.

Some of you might know that I'm a spa consultant in my business, so I found this whole idea of elephant pedicures very interesting! The tools that they use for elephant podiatry aren't all that different from the ones that we use in spas and salons. Do you see the big nail file that the lady is holding in her right hand? Scrub brushes and oil. Tools to get dirt and rocks out from their toes. Everything but nail polish!

As a burgeoning elephant conservationist, I already know the importance of proper foot care for captive elephants. In the wild, they would be walking long distances and on varied surfaces that would help keep their feet in top condition. Zoos need to pay close attention to elephant feet. [Here is a good article on elephant foot care.]

What my nephew was more interested in was their toes. We learned that elephants walk on their toes! We stared at the Oakland elephants' feet for signs of this grand nimbleness, but it was impossible to tell just by looking. [Here's an article on elephant foot anatomy.]

We were all about getting a closer look, and one of the fun interactive exhibits they created for Celebrating Elephants was a mock elephant research camp. What fun! My nephew and I could pretend we were scientists studying elephants in the wild.

This display table had a laminated card with a definition of what elephant researchers do:

"People who study elephants in the wild, help us understand elephant ecology and behavior. This research can help solve conflicts between people and elephants, suggesting ethical techniques for management of these complex, intelligent animals."

I would like to be a researcher. How does one get a job like that? Although if that doesn't fit my resume, I could definitely create a luxurious elephant spa! Please send any inquiries my way. Elephants need pampering, too.

For our short project at the zoo, my nephew and I were a team. A zoo docent gave my nephew the binoculars, while I was handed a clipboard and pencil to make observational notes.

 

The elephant we were observing was Osh, Oakland's male elephant. Our job was to note what Osh was doing every couple of minutes. Our report looked like this:

12:05pm Eating
12:08pm Eating
12:11pm Eating
12:14pm Walking and eating
12:17pm Eating

Elephants need to eat all the time!

The zoo also had a safari tent set up, so we could really pretend we were on safari. This might be my favorite photo of my nephew of all time:

In about 12 years, I want to recreate this photo of him--but on a real safari!

The Oakland Zoo has a widely acclaimed reputation for its elephant care. You can feel good about visiting them. The zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Rd, Oakland, CA 94605. Visit their website: Oakland Zoo. Say hello to Osh for us!

Lessons from Ganesh: Step Out

Walk in beauty and be the smile of consciousness. Let the light dance from your eyes and stars fall loose from your hair. You are never more lovely than when you step out of the shadows. Why do you cautiously scurry into dark corners when there is so much goodness around you? Do not fear the wide open spaces. Breathe easy and step out into your royal divinity. Join me in the palace of abundance. Step out and float on the sweet springtime air.

Christian Louboutin Loves Asian Elephants (Now THAT is Some Nice Footcandy!)

 

Shoe retailer Footcandy has teamed up with the red hot designer Christian Louboutin to raise money for Asian elephants. Louboutin agreed to make 50 pairs of zipper-wrapped & strapped Rodita sandals in hot pink (instead of the original black) exclusively for Footcandy. All proceeds will go to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) in Thailand.

The answer to the question on every fashionable philanthropist's mind is YES. Yes, yes, of course they have Louboutin's signature red sole.

So what is the story behind this venture, you ask? I called their St. Helena store hoping I might reach the owner Carolyn Butler to inquire. When she wasn't available, her perky salesperson Brenda was more than happy to explain. In 2006, Carolyn and her husband Perry fell in love with elephants on a trip to the Four Seasons Tented Camp, where it seems their hearts were cracked open by the terrible sadness of how elephants are mistreated in Thailand. I can only imagine, as I have not been to visit the Thai elephant conservationist groups yet, though I have a deep longing to go. It looks profoundly sad, as there is much rescue work to be done there. Carolyn and Perry saw it first hand and were moved to assist through cross-promoting with their shoe & vineyard businesses. [Click here for more of the Butler's story on the GTAEF site.]

The joint venture with Christian Louboutin isn't Carolyn's first footwear promotion for elephants. Her employee explained that she first did one with Cassidy, then another elephant shoe with Manolo Blahnik (shown at right.) I'm not a Manolo devotee anyway, but I'm somewhat taken aback at his choice to create a faux leopard shoe for a conservationist cause. It's an interesting debate amongst us animal lovers as to whether faux endangered species fur items are a compliment to nature's beautiful designs or if they perpetuate the dark history of adorning ourselves with living creatures to the point of extinction. My personal stance is that if it's clear that it's not real, but more of an homage to the animal, then it's okay. These pony-haired Manolo's are borderline for me. Carolyn, if you're reading, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this over a glass of wine sometime!

Footcandy is a charming store in Napa Valley. Being a West Sonoma County girl now, I haven't been by that shop in ages, but trust me, it's fabulous. And now it seems that Footcandy has four locations in California, as well as an on-line store.

I'm so very tempted right now. Those sandals would look so good with the little black dress I got recently. They even have a couple of pairs left in my size (9.5) Oh, but it IS for such a good cause and what a fun conversation starter! I would love to tell the story of those shoes while wearing them!

National Geographic's "Waking the Baby Mammoth" Tells the Tale of an Ancient "Ice Baby"

The 40,000 year old remains of an infant woolly mammoth were found on the Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia. At 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, it is the same size as the elephant orphans I've met in Kenya. Similar to some of their stories, this small babe accidentally got caught up in a river, but rather than being swept away in the currents and orphaned, this one drowned, leaving her mother behind to grieve. Going even farther back in time, her story is similar to other African elephants through the ages. The wolly mammoth's ancestors migrated from Africa to Siberia about 3.5 million years ago. Yet for all the similarities between prehistoric mammoths and the elephants of today, there are still many differences. Scientists are trying to discover what those distinctions are, and this infant's remains, which are nearly perfectly intact, are providing valuable insights.

National Geographic has covered this prehistoric pachyderm story in three formats: television, magazine, and on-line.

Television: Waking the Baby Mammoth
Airs on Sunday, April 26th 2009 at 9pm on the National Geographic Channel. Check back on their site for rebroadcasting dates/times after the premier.

Here is a 4.5 minute video clip from the program, dramatizing what it was like when the infant mammoth's body was discovered out on the frozen tundra by a reindeer herder and his sons in 2007.

If you're reading via RSS or email, click here to watch the video.

There are more videos and all kinds of interactive content that you can view on the show's overview page. National Geographic Channel: Waking the Baby Mammoth.

Don't have an upgraded cable television plan that includes National Geographic Channel? Me either. But this is such a neat story that they also covered it in the May 2009 issue of their magazine.

Magazine: Ice Baby by Tom Meuller
May 2009 issue of National Geographic Magazine.

You can read the full article on-line by clicking here.

Also, the photos by Francis Latreille are quite remarkable. Click the image below or this link to view the entire photo gallery.

 

It's astonishing how anything survives in Siberia, with its cold permafrost that is so severe that this 40,000 year old body could survive relatively intact. So this was quite a find for our scientists who were able to gain better insights into this long-extinct species. (It was also an interesting find for a thief who tried to sell the mammoth body for snowmobiles and food, before the authorities were able to track it back down and reclaim it.) She is the best preserved specimen on record. Even her eyelashes were still there. The full story explains how the scientists determined her cause of death, and more curiously, what caused her miraculous preservation.

Hopefully, our current species of elephants won't become extinct like their ancestors the mammoth.

Perky Pink Elephant Planter, Perky Pink Elephant Planter...

Try saying that a few times fast, or even saying it once after you've had a cocktail!

My dear friend JoEllen gave me this vintage ceramic pink elephant for my birthday this week. Since my birthday falls close to Easter, she filled it with foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies and cellophane grass. I think it will look lovely with a small maidenhair fern or African violet sprouting out like a basket from his "saddle."

Immediately, I noticed that its trunk is raised up, which makes this piece a "lucky elephant." The history of elephants being considered an auspicious animal goes back to Ganesha, a Hindu deity associated with good beginnings (as seen in the above photo, next to the gift on my altar.) However, the elephant with raised trunk being used as a symbol of good luck seems to be more of an American mythology. Here is a link to an article from my favorite curio store, Lucky Mojo in neighboring Forestville all about The Lucky Elephant.

I also noticed that the planter is an African elephant. You can tell by his large ears!

Then the obvious dawned on me. OH! It's a pink elephant. That started to give me an idea of what vintage it might be (there's no company stamp on the planter.) It's probably from the 40's or 50's. That was during the pink elephant heyday!

So what's the meaning of pink elephants, anyway? They seem to be tied in with alcohol somehow.

One of the most famous examples is the pink elephant scene from Dumbo (1941) where Timothy and Dumbo accidentally get drunk on champagne and start hallucinating pink elephants on parade. That scene frightened me as a child, and it still seems creepy to me now. Here's the video clip:

If you're reading via RSS or email, click here to watch the video.

Yet I wondered if the phrase "seeing pink elephants" started because of Dumbo or from something else. Wikipedia to the rescue!

"Seeing pink elephants" is a euphemism for drunken hallucination, caused by alcoholic hallucinosis or delirium tremens. The first recorded use of the term is by Jack London in 1913, who describes one sort of alcoholic in the autobiographical John Barleycorn as "the man whom we all know, stupid, unimaginative, whose brain is bitten numbly by numb maggots; who walks generously with wide-spread, tentative legs, falls frequently in the gutter, and who sees, in the extremity of his ecstasy, blue mice and pink elephants. He is the type that gives rise to the jokes in the funny papers." London may have derived his metaphor from the 1890s saying "being followed by pink giraffes."

I had no idea that phrase came from Jack London. This soon to be released version of his "Alcoholic Memoirs" looks interesting. I don't know very much about his life, except that I've read Call of the Wild and have visited nearby Jack London State Park, where he wrote and drank until he died. He was integral to Sonoma County history (where I reside.) Perhaps I'll pick up a copy and take it with me for reading on a day hike at his park.

More information on pink elephants and vintage cocktail culture can be found on Shaken & Stirred, a blog about the "Wonderful World of Cocktail Shakers & Bar Ware Collecting, Cocktails, and Booze..." The blog's author, Jimbo (reminds me of Jumbo the elephant, or Jambo! which is hello in Swahili) did a nice historical overview in a post called The Pink Elephant. He's also got some great photos of 1940's pink elephant cocktail shakers and retro graphics! I also just learned that there is a cocktail called a Pink Elephant and he gives the recipe, too.

Which reminds me...

There's a bar called The Pink Elephant in Monte Rio, a speck of a town in the Russian River resort area of Northern California. I took that photo of the sign one day. It was around 1pm, and when I peered inside I could see quite a few hard-drinking types cloistered in the dark tavern. Frankly, it looks a bit rough, although I've heard that new owners have improved it since then and it's a pretty fun place to go (when you're in the mood for a dive bar kind of experience.) Hmmm... I wonder if they know how to make Pink Elephant cocktails there? This story might have to be continued later. Oh, the things I'll do for research!

Is the Elephant Your Spiritual Animal Totem?

Last weekend, I was relaxing at a hot springs resort with my friend Max. It was the first day of spring, warm enough to sunbathe, and I was contentedly cloud gazing while stretched out prone on my beach towel. Nature was putting on an entertaining show in the sky. Fierce white dragons. Phoenixes rising and dissipating. When an enormous elephant cloud appeared, I smiled appreciatively. Max got out of the pool and joined me, but the elephant cloud went away before I could show him. It was only for me.

That day, Max gave me some photocopied pages from a book called Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small. There was a section on the spiritual meaning of elephants. The keynote reads: Ancient Power, Strength, and Royalty. He sweetly read parts of it to me, pointing out how so much of it applies. It even mentioned how for those with an elephant totem (a magical symbol that represents one's essence) that aromatherapy should be studied and used. Why yes. I even used to have an aromatherapy business. He skimmed it aloud and I tucked the pages away with the intent to re-read it later and post it for you here.

I'm smiling again now, because I just read the part where the author writes about how there is a lot of mythology linking elephants and clouds together. He says that when he used to do intuitive "cloud readings," one of the first things he would always see would be an elephant cloud. Perhaps we share the same totem.

You can order the book Animal-Speak from Amazon or any good metaphysical bookstore.

Although I don't own this book, it's considered a classic reference guide for anyone wanting to explore Native American animal totems. However, if you really just want to read about elephants, I've found an on-line preview for you at Google Books. Click the image below to read the full passage.

 

May your spring days be sunny and your skies filled with elephants!

Room to Roam at San Diego Zoo's New Elephant Odyssey?

Thank you to Wanda, one of my elephant-loving readers for sharing this topic with us.

 

Click here to download a full-size PDF of the Elephant Odyssey Flyer.

The San Diego Zoo is nearing completion of their new and improved elephant exhibit, Elephant Odyssey, scheduled to open on Memorial Day of 2009. The $45 million estimated construction costs are for the creation of a 7-acre mostly outdoor habitat designed to enclose the zoo's eight elephants. However, a recent article in the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the elephants will truly have access to only 3 acres.  

Read the full article here: Room to Roam, San Diego Union-Tribune

The new exhibit brings up an elephant-sized ethical quandary. Is it alright to keep elephants in zoos at all, and if so, what are the proper parameters? As with other elephant conservation topics, many of the experts are divided. I am certainly no expert, but consider myself a conservationist at heart, having a fondness and sympathy for these precious pachyderms. I have still not settled into a firm position on elephants in zoos.

Unlike other more purist conservationists, I do see some educational value in zoos. Perhaps in these days of multimedia internet and whole television channels devoted to animal programs we could declare that the need to import live animals is obsolete. Yet I can still vividly remember the wonder and awe of inserting my elephant-shaped key into the recorded description box at the San Francisco Zoo's elephant exhibit when I was a little girl. Oh, how I adored the elephants! That feeling of being close and in love with them was powerful. I think that being able to emotionally and intellectually connect with live animals in a conservation-minded setting can inspire people to become more cognizant of those animals and their needs.

Recently, I took my 5 year old nephew to that same zoo. I delighted in watching his face light up as we made sure to visit all of his favorite animals. (I think they are all his favorites!) He made me proud as he read the "please whisper near the gorilla exhibit" sign, and dutifully tried to hush the other children who were shouting nearby. I felt a twinge of sadness as I remember writing a letter to my legislator in favor of banning elephants at the San Francisco zoo, due to the inadequate (less than 1 acre) facilities and deaths of 2 elephants there in 2004. Looking at the faded stucco building that used to house them, and knowing that it was empty inside made me feel better. The only elephant in that area now is a cute bronze statue of a baby ellie.

The Oakland Zoo has done a lot to turn around their elephant care reputation by creating one of the country's first protected-care facilities that allows elephants to avoid direct contact with keepers (trainer bullying was a problem for the Oakland Zoo in the past.) Oakland elephants have about 6.5 acres of space they can roam on. The photo below is taken while on a "back stage" tour of the zoo, where Colleen (the head keeper) was introducing us to Osh, the bull elephant there. (That's me, shielding my eyes from the late-afternoon sun as I'm looking at Osh.)

 

It's worth mentioning as not everyone knows this: elephants are migratory creatures. In the wild, they roam for 30-50 miles per day. This is one of the reasons that elephants and humans have conflicts (besides ivory poaching.) Migrating elephants will roam and forage, eating and destroying the vegetation in their path. They are a dangerous nuisance to farmers. Yet it's our over-expansion into elephant territory that creates this problem in the first place. We all need room to coexist.

In zoos, elephants are deprived of the space needed for them to roam naturally. This causes them many health issues, most notably foot ailments, but also obesity, mental stress, shortened lifespans, and other problems.

The article "Room to roam," has a reader poll in a column to the right. The question is "What should zoos do about elephants?" The poll options are:

• Standard enclosures are fine, it's a shame so many are shutting down.
• Larger enclosures like the one San Diego is building are the responsible course.
• Zoos should stay out of the elephant business, it can't be done humanely.

Today, I voted for the 2nd option about larger enclosures and responsible care, and 67% of poll responders agreed. Yet I still don't feel settled with my opinion. Part of me also agrees with the 30% of people who voted that it can't be done humanely. 7 acres for 8 elephants still seems woefully small to me. It only sounds better when compared to the prison yards they were in previously.

My only reason that supports elephants in zoos being somewhat useful is that I think education is so important. Surely, if we have any intelligence at all, we can find other ways to help people learn about and become interested in elephant conservation. Large wildlife parks in the animal's native regions seems to be the only truly humane solution. Perhaps larger safari-style parks here in the states could work. Yes, to me that sounds like a better compromise: minimum space requirements starting at something like 40-acres and up.

What are your thoughts on elephants in zoos?

Further reading:

• San Diego Union-Tribune Article: Room to roam.
• San Diego Zoo Press Release: Construction Begins at Elephant Odyssey
• San Diego Zoo Link: Elephant Web Cam (in the current older exhibit)
• PETA Prime Article: It's Official, Zoos Kill Elephants

Video Clip: "The Cost of Ivory" on 60 Minutes

My favorite elephant convervation group, The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, was featured in a 12-minute segment on CBS Television's 60 Minutes news program on 12/21/08.

If you're reading via email or RSS, click here to watch the video.

There are more 60 Minutes elephant videos you can watch online. It makes me happy to see CBS airing programs for the cause. I'm also pleased that they host the video clips on-line for those of us that don't watch regularly-scheduled programming. So here's a big ear-flap for CBS!

Video Clip: Not Just Man's Best Friend, but an Elephant's Friend, Too

My animal-loving friend JoEllen sent me this CBS newstory from the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. It's the story about how Tara, one of the rescued elephants there, has become close pals with Bella, one of the rescued dogs. It's touchingly sweet.

If you're reading via email or RSS, click here to watch the video.

Here's the full article: On Elephant Sanctuary, Unlikely Friends

Elephants Love ebay

As of 12/1/08, ebay is implementing a global ban on ivory sales. Although international ivory sales on ivory are already illegal in many places, unscrupulous sellers and buyers have been using ebay's online store platform to break the laws. After much prompting by animal rights groups, ebay has taken a stand against the ivory trade (forgoing their former profits on the legal, as well as the illegal trading) and is implementing a site-wide ban on the sale of ivory.

This is a small step in the greater issue of elephant conservation and the ivory trade, but it is one worth acknowledging. You can read more about ebay's decision on their official blog. If you support this cause, please take a moment to leave a favorable comment there.  
Click here to visit ebay's blog.

If you would like to use the image from this post on your blog or website, we give you full permission to do so.