Legacy, PAWS’ Beloved Elephant
Passes Away
SAN ANDREAS -
71, one of PAWS’ cherished African elephants, peacefully passed
away
this weekend. Her PAWS family was with her. She was 26 years old.
71 was born in Africa and shipped to the United States after her
mother was killed in a cull. Assigned and tagged #71, and slated to
be sold as a baby circus elephant, she and a few others in the
group ended up being purchased by a man in Florida who owned a
large estate. Without her mother’s care she was malnourished,
chronically sick and nearly died.
In an attempt to save
her young life, Pat Derby and Ed Stewart, founders of PAWS, offered
to give her sanctuary. "71 was the cornerstone of PAWS. She was the
reason for everything that guides PAWS’ founding mission. She
leaves a legacy for the other African elephants, Mara, Ruby, Lulu
and Maggie, whom she led. ARK 2000 was truly hers," Pat Derby said.
When 71 first arrived at PAWS her veterinarian said she would never
be a healthy elephant.
But Pat and Ed committed themselves to giving her a chance. They
slept with her for months, and bottle fed her until she was strong
enough to eat on her own. They gave her love and encouragement.
They gave her a family. "When 71 first arrived and walked out of
her crate," Derby recalls, "we immediately cut the chains from
around her neck. We promised her right then she would never again
be chained. She would never be beaten. She would never have to do
anything she didn’t want to do. We kept that promise to her."
Captivity, and the practice of capturing elephants—tearing them
away from their families, forcing them to live in confined spaces,
often cruelly trained—is ultimately what destroys them. "I hope
everyone who hears 71’s story will remember her when they see
elephants languishing in small spaces, rocking and swaying,
deprived of their freedom and their families," Derby said.
PAWS is a nonprofit, captive wildlife protection organization. PAWS
cares for over 100 animals at its three wildlife sanctuaries in
Northern California. PAWS animals were rescued from abusive and
neglectful conditions or retired from zoos. Once they had lived in
confinement, but at PAWS and ARK 2000 – a 2,300-acre
state-of-the-art sanctuary -- they now live in spacious natural
habitats with rolling hills, lush natural grasses, trees and lakes
and ponds. At PAWS, the animals are provided 24-hour monitoring and
care — never left alone. Visit
www.pawsweb.org for more
information.
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