- Feb 5, 2002
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...11 Watering Holes
Some kids dream of running away to join the circus—while the Ringling Bros. elephants that had been performing every night might have been dreaming about a place like this, a dream that is now coming true.
35 Asian pachyderms formerly under the care of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are being welcomed to a 2500-acre Florida reserve where they can wander among their favorite habitats—wetlands, grasslands, or forest—and splash about in 11 different waterholes.
The White Oak Conservation refuge, located in Yulee, was set up to accommodate the about-to-be retired elephants in what will become the largest herd of Asian elephants in the Western Hemisphere.
The 4-square-mile refuge is the best scenario for these elephants because they’ve been raised in captivity and are not equipped to survive in the wild.
“We are thrilled to give these elephants a place to wander and explore,” said philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, whose family-based charity organization, TWF, is the driving force behind the project.
“It is a chance for us to let them return to just being elephants in a situation that is as close to the wild as we can make,” TWF’s Michelle Gadd explained in an interview with National Geographic.
Continued below.
35 Circus Elephants Arrive in Amazing Florida Sanctuary to Retire Among Forest, Grassland, and 11 Watering Holes
Some kids dream of running away to join the circus—while the Ringling Bros. elephants that had been performing every night might have been dreaming about a place like this, a dream that is now coming true.
35 Asian pachyderms formerly under the care of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are being welcomed to a 2500-acre Florida reserve where they can wander among their favorite habitats—wetlands, grasslands, or forest—and splash about in 11 different waterholes.
The White Oak Conservation refuge, located in Yulee, was set up to accommodate the about-to-be retired elephants in what will become the largest herd of Asian elephants in the Western Hemisphere.
The 4-square-mile refuge is the best scenario for these elephants because they’ve been raised in captivity and are not equipped to survive in the wild.
“We are thrilled to give these elephants a place to wander and explore,” said philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, whose family-based charity organization, TWF, is the driving force behind the project.
“It is a chance for us to let them return to just being elephants in a situation that is as close to the wild as we can make,” TWF’s Michelle Gadd explained in an interview with National Geographic.
Continued below.
35 Circus Elephants Arrive in Amazing Florida Sanctuary to Retire Among Forest, Grassland, and 11 Watering Holes
