Connie and Shaba arrive at the San Diego Zoo

Connie, (an Asian elephant), and Shaba, (an African elephant) have been together for over 30 years at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, AZ and have recently been moved to the Elephant Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo. The move didn’t come easy, however. Originally the zoo had plans to separate the two elephants, since Connie is an Asian elephant she was headed to San Diego and Shaba was to remain with the African herd in Tucson. But after weeks of public outcry not to separate the two, which included the support of Bob Barker, the city council agreed to keep the girls together. So they packed up their trunks and moved to San Diego!

Proof once again, that voices can be heard. If it wasn’t for ele lovers standing up for these two, they would have suffered a traumatic loss from their separation.  There are very few places on earth that you will find Asian and African elephants together, as they are actually different species. So the challenge was heavy, but San Diego currently does have the two together and fully expect Connie and Shaba to gravitate towards their own species. Hopefully, things will go smooth.

Why Elephants?

When I was 9 years old my grandmother took me garage sale shopping with her and gave me $5.00 to spend on anything I wanted, because she was of course, the best grandmother ever. I spotted a little ceramic life-like elephant figurine and bought it in a flash. As I grew up I cherished that figurine, set it on every dresser everywhere I lived, dusted it and polished it, and somehow bonded with the elephant species in general. It was also the beginning of my “elephant collection” of elephant figurines, and what would later become my collection of “all things elephants” which includes anything from elephants jewelry to elephant furniture to an elephant shaped teapot.

When I was 14 my father and step mother took me and my little sisters to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, which is an African themed amusement park. One of the popular children’s attraction was the elephant rides. As we stood in line I stared at the elephant as she walked in circles with children on her back, and even at my young age I noticed a look of misery and felt so very sorry for her. I stepped out of line, no longer interested in the ride. I never again went to another zoo or circus.

Fast forward to the early 2000’s…as I’m searching through dozens of web hosting companies for my new real estate website business, I came across a Canadian based company named “Elehost”. After checking them out it was an easy decision to give them my business. Their web hosting company website had a tab in their menu called Why Elephants? which I was intrigued enough to click on. I would dare to say it was life changing, as it led me to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and more important, unlocked and renewed my passion for and obsession with elephants.

“They have all the emotions of us humans – all the good traits and few of the bad. “
~Dame Daphne Sheldrick

I’ve done a fair amount of research on elephants, and also the people that advocate for them and help in some way whether it’s large or small. Once I started looking, I mean really looking, I also exposed myself to the horrors of poaching elephants for ivory in Africa and the abuse and unfair treatment of circus elephants. While I cannot personally and physically stop the abuses, I do have a voice. We all do.