Sacred Elephants

Save the Elephants Research Camp & Elephant Watch Camp Destroyed by Flood

Thank you Barbara Shepler for alerting me to this breaking news.

I am deeply saddened to report that my elephant conservation friends Iain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton, founders of Save the Elephants, had their research center and eco-camp destroyed by a tsunami-like flood in Samburu, Kenya today. 

Save the Elephants - Media Release
Nairobi, 4 March 2010

STE Research Camp Hit by Floods

Early this morning Save the Elephants (STE) research facility and Elephant Watch Safari Camp located in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, were completely destroyed by unexpected flooding of the Ewaso Ng’iro River, along with seven other neighbouring lodges.

At approximately 5am this morning, a wall of water akin to a Tsunami surged through Elephant Watch Camp, catching tourists and staff unawares and sweeping away tents and facilities. It has been confirmed that camp owner Oria Douglas-Hamilton and guests managed to escape to safety by climbing to higher ground. Several members of staff were trapped in trees until the water subsided later today.

At approximately 7am the flood hit and decimated Save the Elephants’ research facility down river. Researchers and staff managed to drive to safety within seconds of the flood waters surging through the facility. 

News just in confirm scenes of devastations at both facilities, with beds, tents, computers and vital research documentation submerged in mud and strung up in the treetops. Over 200 people watched from a hill above the camps as the waters wrecked havoc. 

Staff and researchers hastily salvaged computers and camera equipment, but reports confirm that key research data, computers, equipment, kitchen facilities and food, lodging and personal effects have been washed away. 

Although it is too early to asses the cost of the damage, Operations Manager Lucy King expects it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild the facility, and Save the Elephants is now calling on the generosity of donors and interested parties to kick start the effort. 

The immediate relief process has already begun, with blankets and water flown in by STE founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton this morning, as well as the assistance of the British army which is attempting to airlift people to safety and bring additional supplies.

The waters have currently receded to the point where staff are able to wade through the remnants of the facilities and retrieve what is left of their belongings. 

Ominously, heavy rain clouds hang over Samburu and more heavy rains are expected as early as this evening at what is only the start of Kenya’s rainy season. 

Please note that news updates on the flooding will be posted on the STE website. To donate to STE’s rebuilding effort, please go to www.savetheelephants.org

For all media enquiries please contact:

Lucy King: +254 (0)720 275561

###

This is a terrible loss for all the people involved, as well as elephants world-wide. Meeting Iain and Oria is one of the reasons I went to Kenya a few years ago. They are an inspiration to me for their elephant conservation work, but also as an amazing family. 

 

Oria is a matriarch for me. I love her sense of eco-chic Swahili style. I feel a sense of kindred spirit with her. Secretly, I wish she'd adopt me (my real mom passed away) but I never had the nerve to gush so openly before.

I was so happy in Samburu. My heart and body felt that I'd found my true home.

Oria's Elephant Watch Camp was so beautiful. It was even featured in Architectural Digest in 2007. Positioned right on the Ewaso Nyiro River, it didn't stand a chance against today's flood.

The Save the Elephants research center was a 5-minute drive from the camp, so this was a terrible flood indeed. Below is a photo of the research department. Those are elephant bones lined up out front.

One of the main goals of their work is mitigating human elephant conflict. Save the Elephants has done ground-breaking work in tracking the migratory routes of elephants with GPS collars. As human populations swell, inevitably they build homes and farms in the path of elephants and conflicts arise when the elephants pass back through.

You really can't teach a wild elephant to not eat crops and it's not easy to keep elephants away. So hopefully we can teach humans to build their communities away from known elephant migration routes and find ways of conserving, rather than killing elephants over competition for resources.

It seems that the flooding is still at a dangerous stage, so there's no telling what the damages and losses of research data are. Their entire situation seems dire. This article, Floods Destroy Property in Samburu Park, explains that the neighboring lodges (Samburu-Serena, Intrepids, and Larsen) were also submerged. Rescue crews are on the job. The bigger job will be in starting over and rebuilding a new center to save the elephants.

Donations can be made to one of the addresses on the Save the Elephants Donation page.

Vote for Team Elephant in National Geographic's Expedition Granted Program

Cast your vote by clicking here (ends November 19, 2009.)

National Geographic is offering a $10,000 grant to fund the expedition of the adventurer who receives the most votes in their Expedition Granted contest. This is their largest grant yet.

The battle for expedition bucks is between Team Elephant (represented by Trip Jennings) and Team Shark (represented by Ben Horton.) Both are intrepid adventurers. Both have already received some acclaim for their work. Both have applied for this grant to support anti-poaching efforts. But of course, you already know who's getting my votes* Trip Jennings and Team Elephant.
*You're allowed one vote per day, until 11/19/09, 11:59pm EST.

*Photo credit Inside NGC Blog.

Team Elephant's expedition will take them deep into the Congo in search of elephant poop. Samples collected from the inhospitable and conflict-ridden area will assist Dr. Sammuel Wasser, Director of the Conservation Biology department at the University of Washington in his efforts to abate ivory poaching. Dr. Wasser has developed non-invasive DNA identification techniques that help map out where different elephant families live, so that reclaimed poached ivory can be tracked to its source. In this way, the distribution networks of organized criminals might be broken by law enforcement.

For more information about both team's mission, read the Inside NGC Blog.

One of the things that inspires me about this project is the collective passions and teamwork behind it.

• Trip Jennings is offering his talents at leading the conservation expedition on the river, being the charming spokesperson for the team, and raising funds. 
• Joe Riis will be setting up remote video capture of elephants and taking photos.
• Andy Maser is the media expert, who'll be getting the word out about the expedition's results and what they learned from it.
• Kyle Dickman will be writing up some great stories and articles about the adventure.
• Dr. Wasser will work with the samples collected and integrate the date into his existing project.

All of them will be up to their ears in elephant poop, contributing what they do best to the team's project, and helping to raise awareness about the seriously escalating problem of elephant poaching. It's very exciting to see these guy's take their skills and talents, and courageously put themselves out there to help save elephants.

Most of us conservationist types are hard-wired to ask the question: What can I do to help? The answer is to take what you already know how to do and apply it towards your cause. We can all do something to help. That question is what prompted me to start this website. I enjoy writing, so I started there. Not all of us can be (or need to be) machete-weilding jungle explorers like our heroes on Team Elephant (even though it's thrilling to live vicariously through their stories.) Not all of us need to be super brainiac scientists, either. Just do your thing--whatever that is.

Here are two easy things you can do right now:

• Vote for Team Elephant to win the NGC Expedition Granted contest.
• Forward this Sacred Elephants blog post to your friends (there are Twitter, Facebook, and email sharing links below.)

One last note: Not only do the guys at Team Elephant have a chance to win, but elephants will win. Also, there's a BIG prize you can win, too! NGO is giving away a 12-day Mediterranean Cruise (worth $24,580.) Remember, you can enter once per day until November 19th. Click here to enter now.

PS: National Geographic Channel staffers, if you're reading, as I know you sometimes do, I don't want to win a luxury cruise. There are no elephants on cruise ships! I want to be up to my ears in wild elephant poop. That's my idea of great holiday. Sheesh. *grin*

"Trunk Sale" to Support The Elephant Sanctuary (Buy books, save elephants, win prizes!)

My elephant-loving friends at Tilbury House, independent publisher of two picture books about The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, Travels with Tarra and Just for Elephants, are holding their first-ever "Trunk Sale" promotion from now through December 31, 2009.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, founded in 1995, is the nation's largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered African and Asian elephants. It operates on 2,700 acres in Hohenwald, Tennessee — 85 miles southwestof Nashville.

The Elephant Sanctuary exists for two reasons:

1. To provide a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of green pastures, dense forests, spring-fed ponds and heated barns for cold winter nights.
2. To provide education about the crisis facing these social, sensitive, passionately intense, playful, complex, exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures.

For every 100 copies of their elephant books sold, Tilbury House has pledged to sponsor a much-needed item from the Sanctuary's wish list. These gifts will include 100lbs of peanut butter (a favorite treat), a day's worth of meals for one elephant (including more than 10lbs of fruits & veggies and 100lbs of hay!), and an elephant-sized piece of land (to support the Sanctuary's recent expansion.)

The Elephant Sanctuary has received major media attention recently, including features on Oprah, CBS Evening News, and in People Magazine. Videos of the Sanctuary's now famous residents, Asian elephant Tarra and her canine best-friend, Bella, have charmed millions on YouTube, and their story is the subject of a forthcoming book from Putnam, Tarra and Bella.

This CBS News video about Tarra and Bella is a must-see:

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

To coincide with their promotion, Tilbury House is organizing a virtual book tour for author and Sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley from September 1-8, with interviews, giveaways, and other web-exclusive content. Updates on the tour will be posted regularly on Twitter (@tilburyhouse) and Facebook.

Here are the two elephant books included in the Trunk Sale: 
Both are beautiful picture books with captivating elephant photographs. Minimal text. Large font. Suitable for young/old readers. Would make lovely coffee table or waiting room books!

 

Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley is the story of two circus elephants who were reunited after many years when they were rescued by the Elephant Sanctuary.

[Official book description] "Most elephants in America live in circuses and zoos, and their lives are very different from what they would be in the wild. But there's a very special place in Tennessee called the Elephant Sanctuary, where elephants can finally have the freedom to roam and have elephant friends. Why do elephants come to the Elephant Sanctuary, and what is their everyday life like there? Some are like Shirley, who performed in a circus before an injury forced early retirement and a transfer to a zoo. She lived at the zoo for many years and received good care, but she didn't have elephant friends. 

Then plans were made for Shirley to move to the Elephant Sanctuary, a place just for elephants. It was a big surprise to everyone when Shirley recognized another elephant when she arrived—they greeted each other with great excitement and joy and lots of trumpeting. Jenny had been a baby elephant at the circus where Shirley had worked so long ago. (Elephants do remember!) Shirley and Jenny spent that first night standing close, with their trunks wrapped around each other. And in the morning, Jenny led Shirley outside to explore the fields and ponds and woods and meet all the other elephants. Now Shirley has a special family, in a place just for elephants."

Here is a heart-warming video of Shirley (a former circus elephant) who has now been at the Elephant Sanctuary for a decade and seems to be thriving in her retirement:

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

Travels with Tarra by Carol Buckley is the story about how Carol (co-founder of the elephant sanctuary) came to adopt baby elephant Tarra and how their relationship has evolved over decades:

[Official book description] "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. 

Tarra was bright, playful, and loved attention, so Carol taught her to do lots of tricks (including roller skating and the hula), and for about twenty years they appeared at circuses, theme parks, and zoos, changing their lifestyle as Tarra's needs changed and balancing the performing life with time at their farm. 

But Carol began to dream of a place where elephants could just be elephants, where abused elephants could find a haven, and where old elephants could live out their days peacefully. She established the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, an 800-acre refuge now home to Tarra and five other elephants, with room for many more. A place just for elephants--no visitors--the Elephant Sanctuary has been featured on the Emmy award-winning PBS Nature documentary, "Urban Elephants". Carol Buckley and co-founder Scott Blais were named "Heroes of the Planet" by Time Magazine for their work at the Sanctuary. 

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 needs of captive wild animals. Travels with Tarra has been choosen as a "Louisiana Young Readers' Choice" book. This means many more children will have the opportunity to learn about the lives of captive elephants. This delightful book has just been published and has made the Smithsonian's 'Notable Books for Children' list."

Here is a really cute video of a very chatty Tarra, vocalizing different sounds as she plays at the Elephant Sanctuary:

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

Want more elephant inspiration?
Want a chance to win some elephant prizes?

Here is the complete schedule for the virtual book tour:

Tuesday, Sept. 1: Reading Rumpus
Wednesday, Sept. 2: Sacred Elephants (you are here)
Thursday, Sept. 3: Read These Books and Use Them!
Friday, Sept. 4: Maw Books 
Saturday, Sept. 5: Shelf Elf
Sunday, Sept. 6: Bees Knees
Monday, Sept. 7: Through The Looking Glass
Tuesday, Sept. 8: Bri Meets Books 

Blog Comment Prizes!
Comment on any of the blog posts that make up the virtual book tour (including this post!) and you will be eligible to win one of these 3 prizes:

• A copy of Just for Elephants signed by Sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley.
• A copy of Travels With Tarra signed by Carol and stamped by Tarra the Elephant
• A package of Tilbury House Animal Books— The Goat Lady, Thanks to the Animals, and an advance copy of Bear-ly There.

Details: No purchase necessary. Comments must be on one or more of the respective tour posts (September 1-9, 2009.) Winners will be announced on September 10, 2009. Prizes can only be shipped to the United States or Canada.

Email/RSS Subscribers:
Click here to make a blog comment on Sacred Elephants.

Twitter Prize!
From now through September 9, 2009, anyone who tweets about the tour using the hashtag #trunktour will be entered to win of these 2 prizes:

• A copy of Travels With Tarra
• A copy of Just for Elephants. 

Details: No purchase necessary. Tweets must contain the hashtag #trunktour on or before September 9, 2009. Winners will be announced on September 10, 2009. Prizes can only be shipped to the United States or Canada.

Travels With Tarra and Just for Elephants are available from independent booksellers across the country — if they're not on the shelves at your favorite store, please tell them about the Trunk Sale! Books are also available from online retailers, as well as directly from the Elephant Sanctuary.

The virtual book tour and contests are held September 1-9, 2009.

However, the Trunk Sale is on through December 31st! Tilbury House will be tracking all new (not used) books purchased between now and the end of the year, then making their agreed upon donations to the Elephant Sanctuary.

Also, these books would make lovely holiday gifts (as do their elephant holiday cards.) So please consider gifting them to your friends and family, knowing that you're also giving back to the Elephant Sanctuary!

    

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!

Sinya: Baby Elephant Orphan is Rescued

The team at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescued a new elephant on September 14th. Baby Sinya had the all-too-common misfortune of falling into a man-made well in the Amboseli region of Kenya. Sadly, she suffered from an overnight attack of hyenas nipping at her trunk before the rescue team could get to her, but they did manage to rescue the tiny babe and bring her back to the safe haven at the trust grounds.

There is a lovely photo-rich article of her rescue story online, including some beautiful photos of her with one of my favorite heroes, Amos. *Yay, Amos! Big hugs, soul brother! I'm so proud and happy to know you are doing this important work.*

After you read her story, please consider becoming a foster parent for little Sinya. She'll be needing food & medical assistance to repair her trunk. The minimum donation is only $50 a year, and the good people and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust will put it towards helping little Sinya and all the other orphans who have no elephant families--relying solely on the kindness of their human friends.

Click here to read more about Sinya's rescue.

Be Fashionable for Flora

I was browsing around the Ahali Elephants website, a philanthropic retailer that supports African elephant conservation, when I discovered the cutest t-shirts! They are a promotional item to raise funds for Flora, an African elephant rescued from a circus and transported to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennesse (which is one of my favorite organizations.)

Flora has already been rescued from the evil circus life and is retiring comfortably in the hills of Tennessee. However, elephant care is still an expensive rehabilitative endeavor, especially considering how much food they eat per day! The Ahili Elephants organization wants to secure enough funding to pay for Flora's lifetime care at the sanctuary, estimated at $200,000. They've raised half of that so far. For every t-shirt you buy off their website, 100% of the net profit ($10/shirt) will be donated to Flora's Endowment Fund.

I think the Free Flora t-shirts are (as they say here in California) "hella cute!" But if you'd rather skip the fashion statement and donate directly to Flora's fund, you can donate directly here. Personally, I was compelled to order the "Reach for the Stars" tank top you see in the above photo.

Oh, and in case you're wondering...the t-shirt manufacturer is Cafe Press, which is a print-to-order company. I've ordered their t-shirts before, and they're decent quality American-made bleached cotton fabric. Not organic or anything fancy, but they look nice and have designs that support artists and philanthropists that you might really like. I like elephant conservation, so I think they're great!

Join Me in Showing a Little Tiger Love

Help End the Tiger Trade!
The World Wildlife Foundation is working to protect tigers in Asia with a two-part philanthropy project. Part one is the photo mosaic, which will be presented to delegates from 171 countries at the June meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in the Netherlands. If you click through to their site, you can see the mosaic, and use the zoom to see the smiling faces of people who have already submitted their photos.

Mine's in there somewhere, contributing to the gold tones in the mosaic...

The second thing you can and should do (it's easy!) is to read up a bit on what China's been doing to turn a blind-eye to tiger poaching and the black market for tiger skins & parts, then send a letter to Chinese officials via the WWF Take Action online form letter service.

Please take a minute to join me in some cyber-philanthropy. It's really easy. Then also spread the word to others who you know will care about conserving these magnificent endangered creatures. Thank you.

My Little Sister & Her Adopted Elephant

My younger sister Erin will be 12 years old this month. She lives in another state, and I don't get to see her very often. When it's time for birthday and Christmas gifts, I don't always know what to get her.

Several years ago, I started a trend of buying her animal themed gifts. All children love animals, and I refuse to buy her the corporate branded toys and video games that are everywhere. Each year it's a different animal. Dolphins, gorillas, horses, penguins--I always choose one and buy her a stuffed toy and an educational book or DVD. Although I love elephants myself, I waited until she was old enough to really appreciate the gift of a foster baby elephant. The trust sends wonderfully-written monthly emails about the status of your adopted elephant, and I thought it would be even better if she was old enough to read the letters herself.

Last Spring, there was a new orphaned elephant at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust name Makena. When I was reading her rescue story, I learned that one of my foster babies, Lualeni had become protective of her adopted little sister. That's when I knew that Makena was the perfect baby to adopt for my sister's birthday. (The photo above is of Lualeni and little Makena.)

Recently, I was chatting with my dad's wife, who told me something my little sister had expressed:

"Mom, I'm going to need to get a job. I have to support a baby elephant now!"

That is such unbearable cuteness that I can barely stand it. Me, too darlin'. Me too!

That endearing comment made it very obvious that I needed to renew her elephant fostering certificate for this year's birthday.

If you know an elephant lover, which includes ALL children, big & small, please consider the heart-warming gift of a foster baby elephant (or rhino.) It's only $50 per foster baby, and your money does so much good for the orphanage. Your gift recipient will really be touched as well. You can't help but melt when you read the keeper's diaries.

Click here to foster an orphaned elephant or rhino.

New Rescue Kilgoris Makes 13 at the Elephant Orphange

There is another new infant in residence at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust orphanage in Kenya. The 13 elephant babies make for a very full house! The keepers must really have their hands full. If you haven't adopted an elephant yet, now would be a really good time--surely their budget must be stretched to the maximum.

Baby boy Kilgoris is only a few weeks old. Apparently he got seperated from his family while crossing a river. It's so hard to keep up sometimes! Poor little tyke was swept away by powerful currents. He is now dependent on human kindness and the love of the other elephant orphans to replace his natal family.

You can read the complete story of Kilgoris' rescue here.

The Sheldrick website has magnificent photos of Kilgoris' rescue, but I'll add a couple from my collection that illustrate the airfield the story is talking about. It's not the type of asphalt-covered small airport like you'd see here in the United States.

This is a shot of the tiny dirt runway at Kichwa Tembo airstrip in the Maasai Mara. If you click on the photo, you can see a larger version by selecting "all sizes" at the top of the photo. Look closely, and you can see zebras grazing nearby! The conditions in which the Sheldrick team works are quite challenging. They've got to coordinate trucks and planes in remote areas so they can get the babies to the orphanage safely and quickly.

Asante sana, Sheldrick team! You're amazing!

Actress Michelle Yeoh Does a PSA for Asian Elephants

Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh of Memoirs of a Geisha was the spokesperson for this WildAid ACAP public service announcement. The crisis for Malaysian elephants isn't so much about poaching as much about the reduction of land for them to live on and the resulting intensification of human-elephant conflict.

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