Pocha the Asian elephant has lived most of her 55 years in a small concrete enclosure at the Mendoza EcoParque in Argentina. She and her daughter Guillermina finally got to leave the zoo in May of this year and were taken 2,092 miles (3,366 kilometers) to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, where they can roam through grasslands and the rainforest and meet other elephants. Their joy in their new home is easy to see.
Would I be out of line to point out that elephants are not native to the South American continent, and that an elephant sanctuary there is as out of place as would be a polar bear sanctuary in California?
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What a great video! I'm so happy for them.
ReplyDeleteI dunno... California is a lot warmer than a polar bear's natural habitat, while Brazil is not that different from the tropical parts of Africa and Asia.
ReplyDeleteAnd a hell of a lot better than where they were. I doubt they have an attachment to any country or continent. Anywhere there is food, water and room is cool, friends are a bonus. Videos like this always give me the warm and fuzzies.
ReplyDeleteIt's not uncommon to put animal sanctuaries in places where the climate is suitable and conditions make it easy to protect the animals from (for example) poachers, whether or not it's near where the animal originated. There is, I believe, a gorilla sanctuary in Hawaii, and several chimpanzee sanctuaries in the continental US.
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