Our Poor Elephant!
She's in bad health because elephants needs companionship and room to exercise, and as you know... Alaska has too many months of cold weather to accommodate this. She spends many months indoors. Through several threats from respected authors, movie makers (was it Michael Moore????) etc.. everyone has tried to remove Maggie to a different facility. They even threatened to make a documentary/movie about the cruelty of animals and including the Alaskan zoo. Okay, I can't recall what the movie he's making is about exactly, but he was going to include dear ol Maggie and mention the cruelty of the Alaskan zoo somewhere in it. Maggie still didn't move. Some of it was finding a way to transport her. There are people protesting all the time now in front of the zoo. So, they then bought a treadmill that can hold an elephant. Well, that didn't help because she eventually collapsed twice due to again... lack of exercise. Today, Bob Barker came to Alaska to try to save Maggie!!!!! Woohoo. Hope it works!!! Go Maggie!! I get sad every time I see her b/c she looks so sad and bored! Just the feeling you get when you're around her. Before this even made the news (our very first visit to the zoo), I had mentioned this to my husband. So we were not surprised when the issue came on the news. Here's a pic of maggie we took of her. She came to us when we started to call her name. Stood there while we took pictures and then left as we walked away. 
 
(the coloring in the second pic is only b/c we just got a new camera and I was playing with the features) |
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| Oh that's such a sad story.
Elephants are really smart. I think we were at the San Diego Zoo while one of the elephants was getting a gentle washing down by an attendant. The elephant stepped on the water hose, shutting it off and then took the hose from the lady. The elephant then was spraying around with the hose and every visitor backed away. Except Joan. Joan decided that she wanted to challenge that elephant. Joan started to march defiantly towards the elephant. The elephant saw Joan. I ran up behind Joan and took her new camera, and then I beat a hasty retreat. The elephant looked at me and winked. I winked back. Joan got soaked. Well, OK, I don't really remember any winks, but the elephant did wait until I got out of water range before dousing Joan. Even enormous, well respected zoos have great difficulties in keeping elephants happy and healthy. For example: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nort ... ankie.html |
Your story was cute! Joan seems to be liked by all. No wonder Mulligan prefers her 
That's sad about the other elephant in the San Diego zoo. On a smaller scale, this is EXACTLY why I am against these new animals/rodents popping up in pet stores. They're not made to live in such a confined environment and for these newer "pets" ...it shortens their life significantly. |
| The elephant, by the way, knew exactly what he (she?) was doing. He took the hose which he had wrapped with his trunk, looked at Joan and raised the stream of water perfectly hitting her in the chest. It wasn't random at all.
Can elephants laugh? |
 Poor elephant! |
How sad, elephants ae such majestic animals  |
What a sad story. I hate to see animals confined in spaces that are too small for them. And elephants are such social creatures as well as nomadic, it is just WRONG for her to be alone in such a small place.  I hope she gets out.
When my nephew & I were in Rome last summer, we went to the zoo there. It made me cry. All the animals are in much the same situation as Maggie. I wished I'd never gone to that zoo. It still haunts me.
As an aside, from the title of your thread, I thought this was going to be a discussion about the troubles the GOP is facing right now. |
| I think elephants can laugh. I think they are much more
intelligent than we know. Isn't there an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee? I remember seeing a story about two elephants who had known each other as young animals and been reunited at that sanctuary some 20 years later and recognized each other. They had to allow them into the same area because they were tearing down the gates to get at each other. It was amazing to see. It would be great if Maggie could go there, to wide open spaces. I wonder if she could survive the journey? How the heck do you transport an elephant that far? You must be able to - she got to Alaska. Shellie |
| Many people have offered suggestions and ways to transport Maggie from what I hear. Ways that the news say would work, but another big part of them not letting her go is.... well, Maggie brings in money! Lots of it.
3/4 of the animals at the zoo are in the backyard of Alaska. It's small, and when I go, I feel there are more "birds" than animals. My husband said he saw almost every animal there on the drive up here (different kinds of moose/deer, fox, bald eagle, bears, goats). So Maggie is something exciting. Only other animal I can think of are the polar bears and ostrich (unless I just think I saw it there). |
| African elephants are my absolute favorite animals ever (ok, tied with sheepies, lol). When I was little I saw a documentary about them and how majestic and emotional they are. It showed a baby that was stuck in a mudhole, and how all the female elephants tried to help. It didn't work and the baby died, and the mother was obviously mourning, and her friends stayed with her, even though it put the herd behind schedule. It was such a touching sentiment. I also had an aunt who lived in Africa when she was younger, and she would tell me stories about the elephants and about how clever and how emotional they are.
I took my kids to a small circus once (it was small, and I dind't think they'd have animals there, just acrobats and magicians and stuff), and my kids witnessed one of the elephants being "hooked" in it's ankles. That was it for them... they refuse to go to any circus that has performing animals again. They're on the fence about places like Sea world and the dolphin show at the zoo. We went to the dolphin show, and the kids enjoyed it, but they also have a hard time with the thought of something that should be in a vast ocean being in such a small enclosed area, although I am sure they are treated much better than that elephant was. |
| poor elephant....hey ron, since you took joans camera...where are the pictures........do we even have to ask???? |
| I adore elephants, this has made me real sad......... |
| When I was a child my father took us to the circus. He told me they "make" the elephants mind by poking them with a stick that has a nail in the end of it. That was it for me, I never go to the circus or where there are animals "performing" |
| i went to the alaskan zoo in June and saw the elephant, she was sad and was just standing there inside looking bored.
we had just one elephant here at the Little rock zoo. Its' really sad cause they are social animals. I hope she gets rescued!! |
| I guess she found a home in California. Woohoo. I have no idea the details, but it's been the headline for news for a few days now. ...just haven't caught the full story. They're making her exercise daily now to prepare for her trip. |
| OHHHH Thank God! I thought I was seeing reruns of Kirstie Alley's "before" pictures again.
/meow |
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