tagged w/ The Elephant Sanctuary
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[My note: I hate this particular news article, but so far, it's the only thing I can find about the sad ending to Bella and Tarra's beautiful, inspiring friendship. Hope this hits your heart, too.]
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From Hufffington Post...
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Bella The Dog Dies; Tarra The Elephant Mourns At Tennessee Sanctuary (VIDEO)
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First Posted: 11/4/11 01:23 PM ET Updated: 11/4/11 01:24 PM ET
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Tragedy struck a pair of unlikely friends who had captured the hearts of caretakers and animal lovers.
Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog began their friendship at The Elephant Sanctuary In Tennessee about eight years ago, according to CBS. Last week, Bella was believed to have been attacked by coyotes and died, leaving Tarra to mourn the loss of her best friend.
Bella and Tarra played and ate together, and often had sleepovers in a barn, according to the Leavenworth Times.
Sanctuary caretakers believe Tarra found Bella's body after the attack and carried her to the spot they often spent time together.
"The idea that she couldn't leave that body and brought it back home is just heartbreaking, but so inspiring," Robert Atikinson, CEO of the Elephant Sanctuary, told Nashville's WKRN News 2.
Once, when Bella suffered a severe spinal cord injury, Tarra patiently waited for her friend's recovery. CBS detailed the moments in a 2010 story:
For three weeks the elephant held vigil: 2,700 acres to roam free, and Tarra just stood in the corner, beside a gate, right outside that sanctuary office...
Then one day, sanctuary co-founder Scott Blais carried Bella onto the balcony so she and Tarra could at least see each other.
"Bella's tail started wagging. And we had no choice but bring Bella down to see Tarra," Blais says.
Bella was first spotted at the sanctuary in the fall of 2003, and died on October 26, 2011. The Elephant Sanctuary set up a tribute page in honor of the deceased canine.
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[My new note: I've since added a bit more, including something from The Elephant Sanctuary, as well as more videos and photos. The most touching addition is a commentary done by Steve Hartman last night on CBS.]
.[My note: I hate this particular news article, but so far, it's the only thing I... more
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A LIFE SPENT MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Houston vegan & animal rights activist Shirley Wilkes-Johnson dies, but her mentoring legacy lives on
By Joel Luks
04.16.11 | 02:01 pm
"Some things are so wrong they cannot be tolerated," vegan blogger Rhea Parsons writes, quoting Shirley Wilkes-Johnson.
I can't say that I knew Wilkes-Johnson well. What I do know, is that she appeared to be omnipresent in all and every conversation that revolved around doing the right thing. Though our interactions were mostly limited to thoughtful and sometimes humorous conversations via social media channels — always encouraging as I continued to adapt to veganism, developed recipes and shifted paradigms — her passion came through clearly, befriending those making similar journeys and creating allies with others who didn't quite see the world her way.
On the occasion that we serendipitously met while she and her husband Ben were campaigning at Pepper Tree Veggie Cuisine, we made an instant connection and knew that I needed to learn from her.
She had a knack for being successfully and pleasantly persistent, making becoming vegan easy and natural, always speaking on behalf of those that couldn't speak for themselves.
It was as recent as early last week that we were speaking and scheming on making a vegan cuisine video and my being a guest on her popular Vegan World Radio show on KPFT FM 90.1. So it came as a shock when I learned that one of my mentors had suffered a stroke and passed away on April 9. She would have been 74 on April 11.
A Native Texan, Wilkes-Johnson's became vegan in 1984, shifting from 23 years living a vegetarian lifestyle. She was director of the Lone Star Vegetarian Network (LSVN) for 13 years, director of the South Texas Vegetarian Society for seven years, board member of the Houston Vegetarian Society for two years, board member of the Houston Animal Rights Team for two years, radio talk show host and newspaper reporter in the mid-1970s, vegan cooking teacher from 1987, public speaker and co-host of Go Vegan Texas! on KPFT Pacifica Radio. For 22 years, she sponsored a statewide vegan chili cook-off.
Survived by her vegan husband of 44 years, her daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter are also following in her vegan footsteps.
Wilkers-Johnson was in the midst of preparing for the release of a 300 recipe vegan cookbook with the help of Carol Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat. She had a virtuosic reputation for veganizing any recipe and teaching anyone how to eliminate animal products from their lives and diets.
Adams writes on her blog that Wilkes-Johnson said "that creating a vegan world is the most important social justice change in the history of this planet. Vegan activists are kindred souls to the abolitionists who worked to end slavery. I think that meat eating is the foundation of violence on this planet. Like Alex Hershaft, founder of FARM told me in an interview, I too can never stop being an activist until the world goes vegan or until I die — whichever comes first.”
A memorial celebration took place Saturday at Niday-Fairmont Funeral Home in Pasadena. In lieu of flowers, her family is requesting donations on her name to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
A memorial dinner hosted by the Houston Vegan Vegetarian Lifestyle Meet-up group is also scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. at Loving Hut, the vegan restaurant on Kirkwood. Fitting, given that it was Wilkes-Johnson that requested Supreme Master Ching Hai bring her chain of restaurants to Houston during an interview.A LIFE SPENT MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Houston vegan & animal rights activist Shirley... more
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SPEAK UP FOR THE VOICELESS!
Thirteen elephants have died at the L.A. Zoo since 1975. More than half never lived to age 20. Elephants have a natural lifespan of 60-70 years.
Billy is held in solitary confinement, where he spends his days repetitively bobbing his head up and down in a tiny zoo pen. A win next Wednesday means he will be able to start a new life in a natural-habitat sanctuary where he'll have the space and natural conditions that all elephants so desperately need.
City Council member Tony Cardenas has presented a motion to stop the L.A. Zoo's $42 million elephant exhibit renovation. Despite its mammoth price tag and expense to taxpayers, it still will not provide the space elephants need, and elephants will continue to suffer and die painfully and prematurely at the zoo.
At last week's Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee meeting, representatives from the L.A. Zoo, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the San Diego Zoo tried to stymie Council member Cardenas' efforts, but the motion now goes before the full City Council.
It is critical that as many advocates as possible attend this meeting to show clear and strong support for closing the exhibit and ending Billy's years of isolation and deprivation.
Please follow links & show your support for Billy's freedom!
If you live near the L.A. area, zoo supporters will be out in large numbers. Let's be sure that our voices outnumber theirs. (At the committee meeting, elephant advocates far outnumbered zoo supporters when speaking during public comment. We need to repeat that strong performance!)
Billy deserves to live out the rest of his life at an elephant sanctuary. This is our only chance to stop the suffering once and for all!
Please Help free Billy!SPEAK UP FOR THE VOICELESS!
Thirteen elephants have died at the L.A. Zoo since... more
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If you have already signed the 1st petition for Lucky, PLEASE sign this new one.
The Petition Site: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/a-dream-of-freedom-for-lucky
'A Dream of Freedom For Lucky'
Target:Mayor & Council Members of San Antonio
Sponsored by: ZCTF & Voice For Animals
We urge you, The Board of Directors at San Antonio Zoo, to follow the lead of other large zoos and release Lucky to the Elephant Sanctuary where her needs can be better met. Lucky, the last surviving elephant at San Antonio Zoo is lucky only in that she has managed to outlive her companions, Alport and Ginny, both of whom have died prematurely in the last three years.
Elephants in the wild live in large groups and will walk for tens of miles every day.
Lucky has spent over 40 years in her prison - a small, barren, concrete, zoo enclosure.
It is estimated that over 60% of zoo elephants have arthritis or foot disease problems of the sort that killed her companions. Such an environment cannot meet either the physical or psychological needs of a large and social creature.
The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald Tennessee is willing to provide a more humane and natural lifestyle for Lucky - with 2,400 acres for Lucky to roam in with her new companions. The Elephant Sanctuary will also pay transport costs.
After 46 years of imprisonment, the life of such a beautiful and innocent lady is more important than the few dollars from visitors who walk past her sad and lonely figure.
Now is the time to Free Lucky!If you have already signed the 1st petition for Lucky, PLEASE sign this new one.... more
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Following the untimely death of beautiful elephant, Alport, the San Antonio Zoo has been sending the same reply to everyone who has contacted them regarding the future of the sole remaining elephant, Lucky:
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN. WE ASSURE YOU THAT THE SAN ANTONIO ZOO WILL ALWAYS DO WHAT IS BEST FOR ELEPHANTS!"
If this is indeed true, then the zoo must certainly wish the best for Lucky. They should arrange for release from her zoo prison and arrange for her to be sent to an elephant sanctuary. Compare the photos at the top. The one on the left, is the drab, barren, lifeless enclosure at the San Antonio Zoo. On the right, a portion of the green, natural, 2400 acre habitat at The Elephant Sactuary devoted to Asian elephants. The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee has already agreed to accept Lucky and pay for transporting her, all AT NO COST TO THE S.A. ZOO.
Despite the small size of the enclosure, director Steve McCuster is already planning on purchasing 2 additional elephants!
No matter how well-intentioned zoo officials may be, a zoo just cannot provide adequate space and habitat to accommodate the needs of an animal the size of an elephant. We are asking that the S.A.Zoo follow the lead of other progressive zoos around the country and close the elephant exhibit forever!
The reported cause of death for Alport was an orthopedic tear. Now, Lucky is having foot problems as well. Look at these photos taken by Don Elroy of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, May, 2008.
Please see the video and listen to interviews!Following the untimely death of beautiful elephant, Alport, the San Antonio Zoo has... more
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