Nepal Elephants Still Need Us
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| Watch Samrat Gaj and his mother Srijana Kali play in the river after enjoying produce provided by EAI. |
If you've been following the EAI news the last couple of months, you know that our supporters funded the purchase of supplemental produce for 70 privately owned elephants in Sauraha, Nepal. The coronavirus pandemic brought tourism in Asia to a halt, leaving elephants and their owners without an income. EAI supporters ensured that the tourist trade elephants had a balanced diet and also provided local farmers income, since, without workers, they would have had to leave their crops in the field to rot.
We were very happy to report to you that for the first time, the government granted permission for privately owned elephants to graze the live grasses along the Rapti River inside Chitwan National Park. Unfortunately, since then the situation has deteriorated. The park enforces its rules strictly so when a rule was broken, the government had no recourse except to revoke permission for continued grazing.
Owners have now asked the government for help yet, at the same time, some owners have blocked deliveries of supplemental produce for their elephants. You can read more about the situation
here
.
This makes EAI's supplemental food more important than ever. Every cent you contribute goes directly to feeding the elephants. At the same time, you are helping local farmers when their incomes have been greatly reduced. Every donation, regardless of size, helps!
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Thank You ERNA Volunteers!
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That's Dillon and Julie Forbes 2nd from left and Bill Whitaker 2nd from right.
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Although our 2019/2020 volunteer season was cut short this spring due to Covid19, Elephant Refuge North America (ERNA) volunteers still managed to log nearly 200 hours of hard and rewarding work. A special shout-out to our volunteer program coordinators Dillon and Julie Forbes and Bill Whitaker for making our volunteer program a success for three years running!
ERNA Volunteer Days are now on summer break - it's too hot and humid! They will return in October, as long as it's safe. We'll update you on Volunteer Days dates in the September newsletter.
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Why Attapulgus is THE Perfect Location for ERNA
We recently discovered one more reason why Attapulgus, Georgia, is THE perfect the location for Elephant Refuge North America.
Did you know we are in the area of the United States with one of the highest rates of tree biodiversity? A big thanks to
BiodiversityMapping.org for helping us understand this important characteristic of ERNA's home.
Here are some of the other reasons Attapulgus is a perfect elephant paradise:
- Temperature: Our mild temperatures and warm winters ensure that ERNA residents will spend most of their time outdoors.
- Humidity: Asian elephants evolved to live in humid tropical regions so our location will keep their skin healthy.
- Precipitation: With an average of 50 inches of rain every year, the vegetation is fast growing and lush and the lake and ponds are continually refreshed.
- Vegetation: The variety of grasses, bamboo, river cane, willow, sweet gum, fruit trees and other live vegetation mean ERNA residents will be able to live off the land, with minimal supplementation, as they would in their natural habitat.
- Water: The sheer number of natural water sources, including fresh water springs, lakes, ponds, streams and creeks, makes ERNA ideal for older elephants who instinctively remain close to water sources in the wild.
- Topography: Elephants are built to move, walking as many as 50 miles a day. ERNA's 850 acres of gentle rolling hills and flat pastures will make for endless roaming.
- Ecosystem diversity: Lush pastures for grazing, hardwood bottoms for cooling off in the midday heat, meandering streams for drinking and playing ... the diversity of land features at ERNA make it as close to an ideal elephant environment as you will find in the U.S.
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2020 Thailand Elephant Foot Care Programs - Still on for Fall
Earlier this year we decided to postpone our 2020 Thailand Elephant Foot Care Programs until fall due to concerns about the coronavirus. While we need to be flexible as situations change, our current plan is to move forward with the programs after monsoon season.
On this trip, EAI Founder and CEO Carol Buckley and a team of professionals will help elephant owners at several resorts in Thailand, which have been hit hard by the lack of tourism during the last three months, create their own self-sustaining in-house foot care programs.
If you've followed EAI's work for any length of time, you know that when Carol initiates a new program, it's usually a first and others will learn from and replicate it. If you would like to be part of advancing elephant foot care, we will have some very exciting sponsorship opportunities. Stay tuned for details in the July e-news.
In the meantime, you can always support our Foot Care Programs with donations of any amount. Your donations will cover direct program costs, including educational materials, foot trimming tools, construction of on-site trimming apparatuses, mahout incentives, travel, housing and food.
Learn more about the programs and donate on the
EAI website
.
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As always, we greatly appreciate your interest, commitment and help. You make our work for elephants possible. Thank you!
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