Insights from The Magic Tutu

Agony and Ivory

The upcoming August 2011 issue of Vanity Fair Magazine will shine light on the continued slaughter of the majestic African elephants for their ivory tusks which are now valued at $700 a pound in China.  You can get an advanced peek at the article here.  To me, this is a sign that humanity is getting worse, not better.  Our continued slaughter of these amazing creatures so we can own an ivory trinket is inexcusable.  Please adopt an orphaned baby elephant and help the cause.  It's only $50 a year.  I have adopted 12 babies and wish I could adopt more.  You can read about the most recent rescued baby at the Orphans Project. 

I realize this is a depressing topic but it is my passion.  I also realize that tribesmen in Africa kill the elephants for the money their tusks bring and I am thankful to the work Dame Daphne Sheldrick does to protect as many elephants as she can.  

xoxo Amy

 

Two more babies are safe

 Altho we didn't reach the 25,000 required signatures on the petition to stop the sale of ivory forever, the committee CITIES voted to stop the sale of stockpiled ivory for 3 years.  That is a miracle.  As long as humans value ivory trinkets more than the life of a beautiful elephant, the ivory trade will continue. Thank you to those of you who signed the petition (xoxo).  In the meantime, two more babies have been rescued and placed in the nursery with other orphans.  I have created a mini-blog inside this blog where you can read about the new babies.  One of them is only 6 weeks old and already without her mother who was more than likely slaughtered.  Thank you friends.  The note below from the Trust accompanied the photo.

xoxoAmy

Please find a beautifully tender photograph of Kudup with Mutara in the forest.  Despite being milk dependent they are both enjoying the abundant vegetation since the excellent recent rains, and because they share next door stables during the night they remain firm and close friends. 

Murder for Ivory (Part 2)

Dear Friends ~

I saw many of your names on the petition ~ thank you!  There are now over 5400 signatures so we are creeping closer to the 25,000 needed.  My friends, Steve & Nancy, went to the elephant nursery in Nairobi and made this video:

 http://www.earthriders.us/Kenya/baby_elephant_orphanage.html

These are just a few of the babies that have been rescued following the death or slaughter of their parents.  Please sign the petition.  The link is in the post right below this one.    For the babies ~ Amy

Murder for Ivory

Please friends ~ even if you have never signed a petition in your life, I am begging you to click the link below and sign the petition to stop the unloading of ivory stockpiles in Africa onto the market. Once ivory sales open again (they have been banned for 2 years) poachers will maximize their illegal slaughter of elephants for their ivory tusks thus leaving thousands of babies orphaned.  Read this short explanatory paragraph from the Sheldrick Trust and please sign the petition.  My family signed the petition today.  This is one of the many atrocities the "humans" are committing on our beloved planet.  Have you looked at the elephant watercolors I have displayed to your right?  xoxo Amy

From the Sheldrick Trust:  Decisions made this year will impact on all of East Africa's elephants, including the orphans.   Please consider taking the time to sign our petition as the future survival of the elephants of Central and Eastern Africa will be determined by CITES in March 2010 at the conference of the parties in Doha.  We ask that everyone play their part in fighting for the elephants, and hopefully make a difference.  

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-more-trade-in-elephant-ivory

Please also be aware that you must click 'send' on two different screens.  The first time is immediately after you've filled in the name and address fields.  THEN there is a confirmation page (along with some 'email alerts' which you can choose to receive or not.)  You must also click on the 'send' button at the bottom of the confirmation page to actually have your signature added to the
petition.  We would also recommend that after you have signed you log back onto the petition site and double check to see that your name (and message, if you have added one) is captured.

Another baby elephant has been rescued

Little Shaba was only 1-2 weeks old when he was rescued by the Sheldrick Foundation in Kenya.  A little boy was walking home from school in Northern Kenya and realized the little baby was following him.  The mother elephant was no where to be seen.  Thank Goodness the little boy acted properly and one good deed led to another and the baby is now safe in the Nursery at the foundation.  Just click here to read the whole story of Shaba's rescue.  If you want to sponsor one of the babies, little Shaba would be a good choice.  It's only $50 a year!

I have never been to Kenya or Africa, but somehow I am drawn to the plight of these babies.  It's all because a few years ago, Desi & I watched Elephant Diaries on BBC.  Something changed in me that day and the rescue of these little orphans is my passion.  My girlfriend, Ihla, travels the world, and she went to the Nursery in Kenya last year and saw the babies.  She brought photos back for me.  I would like to go there someday and see the Nursery and the babies in-person.  That's one of the things on my "Things I Want to do Before I Die List."  It's a long list.  Some of the other items on my list are to see the Aura Borealis, drive the Blue Ridge Mountain Top trail in the Fall, see the leaves change in Maine & take the train thru the Northern California wine country.   There are other things I'm saving to do in my next life because I don't have time to do them this time -- and two of those things are to learn to play the piano & violin -- not just play these instruments, but master them.  And you?

Another baby has been rescued

With the ongoing moronic slaughter of elephants for their ivory, another little one was left alone with a spear wound.   What kind of person would spear a baby?  And what kind of person would kill the baby's mother for her ivory tusks?  I haven't said this for a long time, but I must say we have a long way to go as humans until we are Human.  Here's a little about Naimina's rescue:

Friday 12th June was a day that brought yet another needy orphaned elephant baby into our Nairobi Nursery, this time a female calf aged approximately 1 ½ years, and therefore still milk dependent, who was spotted alone by the Amboseli Baboon Research Team at around 1.30 p.m. who, in turn informed the Amboseli Elephant Researchers. Soila and Norah from the Amboseli Elephant Research Project located the calf outside the Park at a place called Narubaala, obviously having come from the Tanzanian side of the border. She had a fresh spear wound between the chin and shoulder and it is highly probable that her elephant mother had been killed in Tanzania where elephant poaching is now an extremely serious fact of life, massive hauls of illegal ivory having been recently intercepted en route to China and the Far East. Assisted by KWS Rangers, and using ropes, the Amboseli Researchers managed to capture the calf and drive her in the back of the KWS Landcruiser Pickup to the airfield, to await the arrival of the rescue plane, which was already airborne and landed 20 minutes later

Another baby has been rescued

This little fellow was found very weak at only 6 weeks old after his mother died from an infection.  One of the other mothers in the herd must have been nursing him a little otherwise he would have died after 2 days.  Now he is thriving in the nursery at the Sheldrick Foundation and has other little orphans to play with.  Click on this link to read the fascinating story of his rescue.  http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=204

It is always heartbreaking when a mother elephant dies because it's usually due to 

being slaughtered for her ivory tusks. However, this case is equally sad. If you are 

new to my blog you'll see that I am mesmerized by orphaned baby elephants and

often post news about rescues. I hope you enjoy these stories, photos and also the

watercolors that I've posted on the left hand column below. There are so many 

things I love about life and babies of all species fascinate me. I was blessed to

raise several kittens in my life and one human -- Haley -- she's my favorite baby.

The rescue of little Kibo

One of my passions is the rescue of orphaned baby elephants.  Little Kibo -- only 3 weeks old -- was just rescued from the bottom of a well.  This is the 2nd baby to fall down that well and finally a ramp is being built that will hopefully help the babies climb out.  I guess that is the only option.  

I've always wondered what it is that draws us to certain passions.  

A girl I once knew was suddenly drawn to learn sign language.  And she did.  Another woman I know quit her high-paying job with the City of Las Vegas to open a no-kill sanctuary for feral felines.  That's where I got my cat, Margo. Another friend goes away to help build homes for people who are  homeless due to natural disasters.  

Who we are doesn't matter.  What we do, does matter.  Then comes the question:  Do we pick the passion or does the passion pick us?   

Hmmm...  another of my many "Insights" from the Magic Tutu.

Please watch 60 Minutes this Sunday, Dec. 21

There will be a story on 60 Minutes this Sunday about the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  I've posted several times about the orphaned baby elephants I adopt thru this Trust that rescues babies after their parents have died.  Many of the parents were murdered for their ivory tusks but some of the babies were orphaned because of other reasons such as falling down a well or being washed away as the herd attempted to cross a river.

I'm looking forward to watching 60 Minutes this Sunday to see footage of the orphanage and the progress they have made.  I hope you'll tune in also!  Here's the latest watercolor that came to me from the foundation.  I have a beautifully framed collection of these lovely watercolors.  I am sickened by the agony we, as "humans", have inflicted on the other life forms on our planet. Adopting an orphaned baby elephant is one way I try to apologize for what we've done.  And yes, I eat meat.  Not a lot, but I do eat it.  If I had to kill the animal myself I would be a vegetarian for sure but like most people, I let others do the killing for me.  It's a contradiction I'm battling with.