Often the animals radicals are accused of propagating/spinning misinformation for the benefit of their agenda. Do any qualified Elephant people care to validate the legitimacy of the below husbandry practice in alleviating discomfort for an elephant in hot weather?
Circus Defends Treatment Of Elephants During Heat Wave
KNBC News
July 26, 2006
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey crews say they have several ways to help elephants deal with a record Southland heat wave as the circus prepares to begin an 11-day run at the Arrowhead Pond.
They're not the "high-tech" variety, but the bag of tricks includes giant ice blocks the elephants can stand on and hit with their trunks, and frozen watermelons, said circus publicist Lucia Singer.
"They make sure they have cool running water and the elephants are hosed down every couple of hours," Singer said. "They might have an extra bath."
The ice blocks are scattered on the ground for the elephants play with, she said.
And frozen watermelons must be oh-so-cool going down.
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18 comments:
Ouch, number 1234567 on the list of reasons why publicists shouldn't be the final source for some kinds of show information. She ought have added that while those solutions are novel, RBBB likely also uses misting systems and fans, which are pretty effective. Shade, humidity, and a little breeze and even the worst LA heat wave is certainly no more stressful than the average day in May in Thailand when the "normal" daytime high is around 35 degrees C or 95 degrees F.
Ben
I have never tried this "block ice" system for cooling elephants. Sadly though, someone will read this little snipit of BS and think every day it is over 85 an elephant should have blocks of ice melting away in it's pen. I can't say it doesn't work, but I could easily point out a bunch of reasons to not have blocks of ice melting away in an elephants enclosure.
Ben,
That argument only works if the animals are actually acclimated to Thailand. These are "elephus floridis" they like a slightly higher humidity....
Oddly enough, Gibbs of all people taught me that animal husbandry in captivity, has little to do with "how they were in the wild", his groom was walking past the camels and Bobby asked,"did you water those camels yet, it's kinda hot out" The groom responded with "No, but I just saw a thing on Nation Geographic, said they can go more then two days without water" Gibbs abruptly responded "water the god damn camels now, they havent seen that episode yet"
From that day on I realized what is good for camels in the Arabian desert, is not always good for one penned up at the circus.
Ben,
You are right. I also suggest the water is as cool as the hydrant or spigot's offer. Worse then her saying it is pro circus, accepting it as valid and shouting it back in anger at the activists. We must be so careful we don't keep shooting ourselves in the foot, or invalidating ourselves, in an effort to be with it and for it. Also, the publicist may have been quoting a memorandum sent down from on high, and didn't want to "bite the hand that was feeding her." Somebody has to have stones Ben, as that crap has gotten way, way, out of hand.
Wade
Ben,
You know my love of the GSOE but when I was there and they started using the term "Burmese Tigers" to describe the White Tigers, and I asked, "where in the hell did you get that from", nobody really knew, so they just kept using it. That should go under the heading of "Educating the Public."
Wade
LOL...Burmese tigers has the ring of something an old time Press Agent might dream up. Rolls off the tongue better than Asiatic Blanc Tigers, or maybe Bengal Blancs. Zoos are in the business of education. Circuses are in the business of entertainment. When a circuses pretends or aspires to be in the business of education it's best to turn on the ballyhoo filters.
Ben
wade -- sometimes when you're writing a press relaease or preparing something for an announcer or even a "fact sheet" for a performer to use on a tv interview, certain things pop into your head from no where and they sound so good you insist they're true. in a good press agent's mind, white tigers should come from a rare, out of the way exotic location so exotic even the natives can't find it. it helps explain why white tigers are so much more "special" than the average tiger. that's how legends are created. legends sell tickets better than old-fashioned facts. that sounds to me like the way white tigers began originating in burma, though i personally would have found a more glamorous place that's not on any map. (where no white man has journeyed since the fabled marco polo's trek through the wilds of rancipur)
sometimes your midwestern boy-next-door innocence doesn't always recognize that occasionally when facts are slightly bent it helps to get to get asses in seats.
Casey,
The worst thing about this is they put the ice out along with the melons as an example of their concern. Worse yet is some "well intentioned" fan holding it up as a shining example of "love of the animals." And nobody wants to offend him by saying, "that's BS. Why don't you just forget the ice deal, and shut the F*** up. We'll instead, let him get a petition up to publish in Circus Report or White Tops to have ice delivered to every lot and worse yet, sign it so he'll write a good review on the show or our act. LOL
Wade
Casey agreed on wild versus captivity. Florida elephants are a little more cold tolerant. I can get away with the comparison because the humidity in Bangkok today is 65% and the humidity in Williston is 55%. Mostly "the wild" is never a very good excuse for NOT giving an animal something...shade, water, exercise. And telling an APHIS inspector that a wild tiger would be perfectly happy dining on rancid carrion, so what's the big deal about my freezer? ...Well that's just an exercise in futility...
Ben
Henry Edgar,
How are you feeling, my dear friend. I was concerned when Art Ricker relayed th news of your hospitalization. Did he relay the message about me "relinquishing" the SuperStar crown to Clyde. If he didn't, never mind. If he did, now that you are up and about, I am reneging and taking it back, until next time you pull that hospital shit.
Henry, you don't need to justify a publicist mindset to me. Back in the day, you had a suberb "silver tongue." In fact, I think when I asked, "where in the hell did you get that name", a couple of people suggest, "probably Henry Edgar."
Stay well, and safe
Wade
Ben,
What are we going to do now. Henry Edgar wants to outlaw Ballyhoo Filters? LOL I have always wondered at bears being outside on winter dates, when everything else is inside. I have been told, it's because bears hibernate in the winter time and can tolerate the cold. When I point out that "hibernate" means eating a large quantity of high fat/high carbohydrate food stuffs and going to sleep in a snow cave, and it doesn't mean getting woke up 2 and 3 times a day to ride a bike, I appreciate the statement "exercise in futility." LOL
Wade
wade - thanks for your concern! that was on my to do list -- to thank you for asking. i only got home last night, at least temporarily repaired while i have six months to lose enough weight to have the heart operation i need. (the down side of writing -- you can get as fat as you want to and nobody cares because a press agent never has to wear spandex -- we just tell everybody else who looks good in spandex they need to wear it.
just give me at least a couple days to rest up on the beatty-williams debate. as you know, it takes time to catch up on sleep you miss when you're in the hospital. not to mention the size of your meals when you're trying to lose weight. hospitals leave no margin for "maybe just a small ice cream"
actually, clyde beatty discovered the hard way what you just noted about bears in the winter. when he was just beginning, he had a polar bear act and the powers with the corporation decreed they could stay outside in the peru winter quarters since they came from climates that were always snow and ice. apparently, they all froze to death in the first snow storm, since as performing bears they never had the need to hiberate) that was a horrible way for the corporation to discover that even polar bears need to spend the winter inside.
glad to be back on the blogs! two weeks with no circus is way too long to be away! (though i could have done without the circus report review that said this year's circus vargas spec was as good as ringlings. ringling has been down-sized and budget cut -- but no where close enough for that comparison)
Henry,
If I tried to put my spandex pants on today, it would be the same as trying to stuff 5 lbs of garbage in a 2 lb. bag.
"Maybe just a small ice cream" is to funny Henry. I wasn't suggesting you had "lost" the silver tongue. I was just suggesting you don't "use" it as much as you used to. I stand corrected. LOL
In regards to the bears, I have yet in over 30 years to see them inside on a winter date, unless the building is big enough for the truck, so I guess they have just been lucky. I'll bet they told Clyde he was "biting the hand that fed him" when he objected. After the deaths, today they would call him "Obama" who sucked up to the Rev. Wright. Sometimes, the training of the animals is the easy part, Henry.
It is sad that someone would equate the Vargas spec to anything Ringling has produced on their worst day. I would be a wealthy man Henry, if I had a dime for every producer who has looked me in the eye and said, "how does this show compare with Ringling?" All I can ever do, is stare back at them blankly and say, "it doesn't" and walk away.
If it is an emergency, and you need the weight lose fast Henry, I suggest they castrate you. That will drop 50 lbs quick. LOL
Best,
Wade
Why does Rinling allow some person to be a spokesperson on the subject when all they can do is suggest some rediculous thing about ice cubes,etc. Isn't she aware of the misting water and of course hosing them down, but all of it is out of proportion.
Hey World, we use bull hooks, we chain them up for their aqnd our peace of mind. We treat them according to their domestic handling for some three hundr4ed years in their native lan, and in fact are 100% more humane than the education they got for centuries. We kinow to e4xer5cisw4e them and we do not need some PR marketing broad or male to do a PR spin on what is easily identified. I speak of Asian elephants. Africans are another subject. Who is the nbottomj li8ne spokesperson for Feld Ent. in regard to animal care, and would you pleASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND BE RECOGNIZED.
Castration...now there's a diet. What happened to tried and true methods like swallowing tapeworm eggs? I could still wear spandex if it was required for selling tickets, but I think I'd need hair transplants to pretend that it made me look good -- if I stay at home sitting at the computer for too many more weeks all bets are off.
When brown bears and black bears hibernate there's a significant drop in their basal metabolic rate. The heart beat slows. The body temperature drops. Polar bears don't hibernate. They go through a "walking hibernation". Reduced BMR, but they sustain their normal body temps in part by moving around. In a small cage in a cold climate even a bear fresh from the wild likely couldn't get the exercise necessary to sustain their core temperature. A long term captive in the 1920's would be deficient in vitamins B and D, which are also important in surviving arctic winters.
In Tegucigalpa, Honduras we had a polar bear we got in a trade with a circus from Salvador. Polar bears don't belong in tropical zoos -- they turn green with algae bloom...but anyway...as much as he enjoyed diving into a pool filled with ice water a couple times a week, at night in January during the rainy season when the temperature could drop into the low 50's he would get so cold he would shake. The bear encloses were all baler cages, glorified corn cribs, a favorite spot for the ice cream vendors who worked in the park. Kids would toss ice cream bars into the cages all day long. The European brown bears literally begging for it. I'm sure all the bears died of dietary disorders from the crap they ate.
Ben
Ben,
You "could wear spandex if it was required for selling tickets?" God Ben, that is assuming somebody would want you to!!! Your bloom is as much off the rose as mine, and I'm not volunteering for any reason.
Wade
Ergo my suggestion that the ability to wear spandex is the least of my problems..lol. I'm afraid the only way I look good is in very dim lights surrounded by very intoxicated, very desperate company.
JOhnny,
That "broad" was being a "company person" cautious of not "bitting the hand that fed her." She just read the memo. She didn't order the ice and watermelons. That move came from above her pay scale.
When you have done something for 400 years, with the last 25 being done reasonably right, with integrity and compassion, I suggest that is not a shining example of achievement. I suggest it is a shining example of, "we don't give a damn how you did it before."
With respect,
Wade
Ben,
Ergo my suggestion that the situation isn't so lost, that you need to resort to a last ditch effort.
Wade
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