Elephant Sanctuary, Hohenwald
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The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is the nation's largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically to meet the needs of endangered elephants. It was founded in 1995 as the United States' first elephant refuge, it is a non-profit organization, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, designed specifically for old, sick or needy elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses. Utilizing more than 2700 acres, it provides two separate and protected, natural habitat environments for Asian and African elephants.
The Elephant Sanctuary was founded by Carol Buckley, who is the Executive Director and Scott Blais who is the Facilities Director. The inspiration for the sanctuary was co-founder Carol Buckley's lifetime experience with her personal elephant Tarra.
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Facilities
The building of the Sanctuary was done in several stages, as funding for the all of these projects came from public contributions, membership support and in-kind donations.
- Development of The Elephant Sanctuary's facilities began in March 1995. Phase I includes a heated barn, a 200-acre steel pipe and cable elephant corral, and a 222-acre perimeter "people" fence.
- Phase II was completed December 1999, adding a 6-stall, 9000 square foot, state-of-the-art elephant barn to the facility.
- Land expansion began Oct 2001 with the acquisition of a parcel of wilderness know locally as the Highland Lake Land. It is a 700-acre parcel of land with a 35-acre lake.
- July 2003 marked the final land acquisition of the Elephant Sanctuary’s expansion. This 1840–acre parcel of wilderness was owned by the International Paper company prior to its purchase.
- The African Elephant Habitat was completed in January 2004. This 300-acre facility with its award winning elephant house is a showcase for innovative solar use.
- Renovation of the Phase I barn was completed in Nov 2004, in addition to creating a Quarantine Facility for sick elephants.
Elephant Population
Currently, the Elephant Sanctuary is home to eight Asian elephants and three African elephants.
In November 2004, it became home to two Asian elephants named Lota and Misty who were came from the Hawthorn Corporation, a company that trains and rents elephants to circuses, now widely known and fined for providing poor care for its elephants. Both Lota and Misty were diagnosed with a human strain of tuberculosis, a disease that was prevalent in the Hawthorn herd.
Lota died in February 2005 of advanced tuberculosis.
See also
Center for Elephant Conservation
External links
- The Elephant Sanctuary's official website
- "Girls, Girls, Girls" - Bunny, Jenny and the 'Girls' of the Elephant Sanctuary Quietly Redefine the Model for Captive Elephant Care (June 2002)