Carol Buckley, Elephant Aid International 2012

One With The Storm

The storm blew in with little warning — fierce, bending saplings to their breaking point. The wind swept fine particles from the dry, dusty roads and newly plowed fields to create a cloud of dust that blocked the late afternoon sun’s rays, bringing premature darkness. Soon the metallic vibrating of nearby generators created a surprise calm, a base pulse underscoring the mighty storm.


http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1215

Update on Nepal pilot project

Starting on May 8th, I put everything on hold while I focused exclusively on Sweetie Kali’s new chain-free corral. The bandh (country-wide strike) caused a bit of delay in the beginning, forcing the fence crew to wait several hours at the Nepal boarder before entering. Clearing customs with 400 KG of power fence materials added to the delay.

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2dfe79...f3&e=eba938eea0

Fund-raising for Sweetie Kali's Chain-Free Corral a Success!

I am sincerely grateful, as I know are Sweetie Kali and the entire NTNC staff, for your generosity toward the creation of Sweetie Kali’s chain-free yard.

The funds raised to date cover the cost of Sweetie’s one-acre power fence enclosure, which she has immersed herself in from day one; her custom water trough, which will be installed tomorrow; and two shovels and a new wheel barrel requested by the mahout staff.

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1220

The babies are ready for their pool!

2 photos from Carol today:

It has been less than 24 hours and we already reached our ChipIn goal for the pool for the calves at the breeding center. YOU made it happen! The guys are hand digging the pond, now that is dedication!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2...&type=3&theater


The plumbers got a kick out of this job---a swimming pool for elephants! The people I work with in Nepal are so supportive and genuinely excited about all our projects. The pool is nearly full!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2...&type=3&theater

From Carol today.

On patrol

When Nandu learned that I wanted to accompany Sweetie Kali on her anti-poaching patrol he directed me to Ram Kumar who graciously cleared my request with Paspat, the mahout supervisor. Realizing how much is lost in translation, I felt it best to experience Sweetie’s patrol duty first hand. I planned to walk instead of ride, which, for the most part, I did.

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1233

"One trade-off that I have reconciled myself with is that I am a distant figure in the lives of these elephants. It is not appropriate to insert myself into their lives. I am here to improve their welfare. It is not about me having the chance to form a close relationship with them; it is about me encouraging the mahouts to form a healthy relationship with them. When we establish the retirement home things will be different and I will have a close relationship with all the residents, but for these elephants who are not under my direct care, a relationship between us would only complicate their lives."

From Carol Buckley's Facebook this morning:

You elefriends did it again! The funds have been raised for Sweetie Kali's water trough. You are the best! I am off to trim five elephant's feet and will post more photos after I get back; oh yea after inspecting the water pump! Your support has been amazing; first Sweetie Kali's chain-free yard, then the babies earthen pool and now Sweetie's custom made water tank. My sincerest gratitude. I can't wait to write about how the water trough was made. You will be surprised, or at least I was. Namaste

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheElephant...389684864401631

Another Possible Care Center in India

For the past two months I have been in communications with a well established foundation interested in collaborating with Elephant Aid International on a care center in Northeast India.

Early next week I will walk the land proposed for the care center. It took a bit of flight rescheduling to accomplish this layover but passing up the opportunity to consider an additional site for a care center was simply not an option.

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1242

Sweetie Kali's Water Trough and wonderful video ...

When Paspat, the mahout supervisor at National Trust for Nature Conservation, asked about a water trough for Sweetie Kali, I nearly fell off my chair. Seriously— his question was a shocker because captive elephants are not given free-choice access to anything in Asia. The belief is that allowing them to make choices will spoil them for their mahouts. The great fear is that if elephants experience a sense of freedom and are content, they will refuse to respond to their mahouts.


http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1247

via Carol Buckley's Facebook page:

I am back from Asia. After monsoon season is over i will return to India and Nepal to continue EAI projects. So much was accomplished on this last trip I can hardly wait to return and continue our work. In the meantime there are serious issues to deal with right here at home.

Rock Quarry Activity in India

Recently I read a scathing online article criticizing the India government for failure to enforce an order it issued on January 9, 1991. The order states that “No quarry or quarry lease should be granted to units in the one-km radius around the boundary of a national park.” The order was meant to preserve the no-quarry-zone as a safe zone for wildlife.

I am personally familiar with this problem. For three months this past spring I lived in Bannerghatta, the center of quarry activity.


http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1264

Home is where the herd is

When I first met Tina, a 33-year-old elephant, she was serving a life sentence in solitary confinement at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. She was born in captivity and had spent much of her life alone in a cramped, barren pen.

As the cofounder of The Elephant Sanctuary, the United States’ largest natural habitat refuge for captive elephants, 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; deaths are mourned. Adults share news and provide support while youngsters play together under watchful eyes. Female elephants stay at their mothers’ side their entire lives.



http://opinion.inquirer.net/33609/home-is-where-the-herd-is

Carol in action


Corrected link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pmIxMnjkKs

Video is not available at this link when I went to watch it.

The link has been corrected. Thank you Ellie.

JON

Last year I had the honor of working with a young, energetic elephant named Jon. He was a recent rescue, living at Elephant’s World, a Thai-run facility outside of Bangkok.

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1277

Welcoming Dr. Arjun Pandit to Our Team

Earlier this month, Elephant Aid International, in collaboration with the National Trust for Nature Conservation, engaged Dr. Arjun Pandit to oversee its elephant welfare projects in Nepal.

While interviewing Dr. Pandit I was pleased to learn of his interest in elephants. We’re very fortunate to secure the services of such a highly motivated individual. He will make a great addition to our team, expanding our ability to develop and monitor elephant welfare programs in Nepal.


http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1284

Join Carol in Nashville and Washington, D.C.

Carol will be reading from and signing her book Tarra and Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 18 at 10:30 am. The book continues to raise awareness about interspecies relationships and the wonder of an unlikely friendship.

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2dfe79...47&e=e6d9b5effa

Thanks for posting, SL
Impressive how much Carol has achieved in such a short space of time - how much she has promoted the elephants' cause in so many locations.
Would that zoos had even a fraction of her vision and energy with regard to the welfare and treatment of their elephants ...

Drag Chains and Training

Elephant’s World posted two videos on YouTube last week of me training a young elephant named Jon (you can view them here and here). I was surprised to see the videos and happy to know they exist.

Many people found the videos interesting and some have asked why Jon is wearing a chain. The chain is called a drag chain; in Asia it is used to prevent an elephant from running away. One end of the long chain is fastened around an elephant’s wrist and the other end drags behind.



http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1301

ASIA CALLS

The annual monsoon season is nearly over. Asia is calling me back, once again.

These weeks home have flown by, filled with taking care of business and preparing for my return to Asia. This coming trip will be my fourth in two-and-a-half years.

Looking back over my work in Asia has given me a clearer perspective. Each visit built upon the one before, resulting in a firm foundation for elephant welfare programs.


http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1316

Carol Buckley’s ‘Tarra & Bella’ will represent state at National Book Festival

HOHENWALD — Tennessee’s own internationally known elephant care expert, welfare advocate and author Carol Buckley will take her children’s book, “Tarra & Bella, The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends” (Putnam Books), to Washington, D.C.

http://columbiadailyherald.com/sections/li...e-national-book

Carol Buckley at the National Book Festival, Washington, DC, 9/22

https://www.facebook.com/cora.moore1/posts/...41323573&type=1

Elephant Aid
International
2011
Annual Report

http://www.elephantaidinternational.org/pd...nnualReport.pdf

Monsoon Season is Over

There are more than one hundred elephants awaiting pedicures in India and Nepal. Wow — I can hardly catch my breath at the thought of it!

This is my passion these days — foot trimming. The joy of being at the ground level, literally, of elephant welfare, is thrilling. I know we cannot fix all the problems facing captive elephants in Asia, but foot care is a very immediate and concrete way to improve their lives.

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1376

Via Carol Buckley's Facebook page - She has arrived safely in India!

For those who asked, I am sorry but there are no photos of me disembarking from the crowded airplane, dragging my overweight luggage from the terminal out into the almost-cool night air, flagging down a city taxi and taking the quiet (for India) and uneventful ride into Bangalore city. The flight was fine, and I have arrived safe and sound.

I met with Vishnu who continues to pursue the Bannerghatta care center project. Bless his heart, if anyone can overcome the obstacles facing that project, Vishnu can. He knows we are behind him all the way.

Tomorrow we meet with some elephant-fence experts to expand my knowledge of available products and brainstorm ideas.

Then it's off to Assam for a second meeting with representatives from the Assam Elephant Foundation and the State to continue our discussions about an elephant care center.

Bahabur's surgery

Thirty-five-year-old, Bahabur, a skilled koonkie (elephants trained to assist mahouts in the capture, training and management of wild elephants) who only days before successfully pulled a wild rhino from a mud bog nearly lost his right ear in a fight with a wild bull elephant.

Bahabur is intimately familiar with both captive and wild elephants. He lives with a non-related herd of koonkie elephants whose job it is to assist their wild kin by participating in human-elephant conflict mitigation ...

Without complaint Bahabur reclined in a half-sitting position, giving the veterinarians access to the wound. No one yelled, hit or in any way badgered Bahabur. Instead they spoke calmly and confidently, patiently waiting for Bahabur to respond to their commands and get comfortably situated.

In soft tones, treatment instructions were given. The wound was cleaned, flushed out with clean water and Betadine.

The veterinarians and mahouts worked seamlessly together, voices low as they repaired the half-severed ear of this full-grown bull elephant.

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1395

Via Carol Buckley's Facebook page:

Sitting in the Delhi airport waiting for my flght to Kathmandu. What a fabulous 4 days I spent at Wildlife SOS. They continue to do good work, setting a high standard for captive wildlife care in India. There is a lot to report so I will save it for a BLOG entry.

From Carol, posted 3 November 2012:

Back in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal

I was pleased and honestly a bit relieved to see that the chain-free fence was in pristine condition. The staff, under the direction of Chiran Pokheral, the officer in charge, did a fabulous job of ensuring the success of our pilot project ...

http://www.carolbuckley.com/elevisions/?p=1426

One elephant and one chain-free yard at a time ...