Along for the ride:

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Vision Quest Elephants

Meet Butch, on his way to join us for breakfast.

Butch did bring us our breakfast, as promised, but it was more about feeding him his really.

Fond good-byes to our ten foot tall new best friend.

Last night we slept in tent-cabins in the middle of an elephant sanctuary in Northern California. The elephants have been purchased from circuses and such to allow them a humane and well cared for retirement. Our cabin overlooked their park, which they share with some water buffalo and a zebra who thinks she's an elephant.
Yesterday we took a tour of the rest of the venture, called Wild Things, where some other exotic animals are raised and work one on one with their handlers from the beginning so that they can enjoy country walks on leash every day, around the compound, and also participate in educational events and some movie shoots etc. which finance the elephant sanctuary.
During the dark night, far enough away from the city's light pollution that there were more stars than sky, the canvas walls flapped gently as the breeze came and went from the nearby ocean.  We awoke several times to a lion's roar and once to the unusual house-alarm imitation by Ed, the Hyena. Hyenas are a lot bigger than they look on TV. The hair on their backs grows from back to front, to help improve aerodynamics as they steal from hungry lions and run away backwards, dragging their loot. Hyenas have a crush strength in their jaw second only to the Nile crocodile. They don't just bite your arm, they bite it off. Ed doesn't get to go for walks, despite his/her cuteness. Hyenas come with dual-purpose genital equipment so it is hard to tell without a really close encounter whether they are male or female. No-one has volunteered to take a closer look at Ed, as yet.
I enjoyed every minute of our stay; learning new things about the animals was an unexpected bonus. The close encounter with Butch the Elephant was a deeply moving experience that I shall treasure. 

20 comments:

  1. Wow, this is a change of pace !

    And that zebra which thinks she's an elephant ??? Pray tell more, and a photo... you know how much I love all things in zebra stripes...

    Sounds like a great place... except for the arm severing hyena !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Owen, something even more intriguing was a "ZeDonk". This cross between Zebra and Donkey has Donkey uppers and stripey legs. Very Haute Couture looking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds wonderful. Yes, more pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always feel that elephants know more about us, than we know about them.

    What sort of acreage does the sanctuary cover?

    ReplyDelete
  5. It sounds absolutely amazing. What an incredible experience.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so glad you have pictures. The description is amazing. What a wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing it here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. @eloh, Primitive that I am, my camera only has a memory card for two dozen photos. I am at the mercy of the rest of the team. As soon as they download something good, I will share.

    Martin, about 60 acres.

    Steve, I heard about it through a friend and planned and connived until I got there myself. Added bonus of a sortie with Lovely Daughter and SIL whom we had gift-certificated half last year and the rest this year for birthdays.

    TechnoBabe, Yes, it is nice to have proof, although the images and moments are pretty indelibly saved in my mind.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How wonderful that the elephants have a place to go after the circus, etc. I always worried about that.

    You had one incredible weekend trip. Sounds like a truly special experience. Hope hubby enjoyed it all as well!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is going on my list of things to do in retirement. What a wonderful experience. I am googling for more info now.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My husband and I would love to spend some vacation time there! Thank you for making me aware of it, and even more for the touching photos.

    ReplyDelete
  11. oddly i had a dream the other night where i was trying to escape from somewhere and the Queen was supposed to hire an elephant but hired a panda by mistake.

    Not 100% relevant - but aren't elephants amazing??!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jean, I was happy to hear that too. There are five elephants at the sanctuary. One has food allergies so she has remained small, (relatively) but at least she is alive.

    #1Nana, from our cabin we could watch each elephant lie down to receive it's morning scrub and hose down.

    Lydia, it could be a very romantic get away.

    A Pixie, a Panda and a Queen? Delicious...

    ReplyDelete
  13. That looks like a wonderful experience, love the photos with the elephant walking up to the patio/tarrace!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds heavenly. I would love the close up interaction with elephants! I have a friend who visited Africa after seeing a program on Nat. Geo. about a couple who had rescued a baby hippo and how they have raised her. After contacting the couple, they welcomed my friends with open arms. My friend said the experience was wonderful. Feeding and touching and just being close to such a large and amazing animal. Thanks for your reassuring comment! Pam

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wiola, we were next to his big brown eye, which swiveled back to see what we were doing. Eye lashes three inches long. Once in a lifetime, indeed.

    Pam, thanks for your comment and the post on your blog. Sometimes reality need an airing, although most of us shy away from it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ohhh.. I feel like an envious child!.. I went to a zoo a good few years ago now when the kid was a very small baby.. the elphants there made me cry.. it's easy to put human attributes onto animals... but.. there is definately something VERY special about them!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Er, I deeply envy you your elephant time. I can dimly imagine how remarkable that must have been. Have you read 'When Elephants Weep'?

    ReplyDelete
  18. oooooohhh, that is AMAZING! What a great idea and experience. I am so happy you were to have this adventure. But seriously grrrl, more photos...:>)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Watercats, some memories surfaced as a result of this visit. Things I knew but had taken for granted. My parents must have taken my sister and I on many animal related day trips. I remember being embraced around the neck by the sugar-covered trunk of a baby elephant, as if that is something everyone has experienced. There was a tropical rain-forest exhibit as well with baby pygmy hippos and birds of paradise flying/roaming freely inside a huge humidity controlled environment. Not even sure what country that was in, maybe Holland? Did Mum and Dad cater to me being animal crazy or did they create the monster?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Deborah, I don't think I have read that (I'm bad at recalling book titles). I will track down a copy. Thanks for the nudge.

    Magpie, I've been smiling "at elephants" all week. My secret! They topped up my happy reserve.

    ReplyDelete