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Photo above taken 12/22/07 and photo below taken 12/23/07
Ryan, I have moved your comment here, so none of our fine readers across the wet bit miss it. I may have given you the wrong impression. I have posted a number of photos of this elephant in the past, and posted the one the other day, to kind of get the "sanctuary" discussion you wanted going. The point I was making was the outcry at taking Ned in public, yet the real issue was how he got in that condition. That should have been the major concern by this industry. As far as I know there were none of those issues over Shenka's condition as he was a very old elephant, and you would expect this condition, that the public had watched turn into an old man. I believe the photo above was taken the day he died. I hope elephant fans from Europe, like Vincent, Simon or others, can tell us more about him, and why or why not he wasn't an issue in the publics eyes or the animal authorities.
Photos courtesy of Simon De Winter
Friday, January 9, 2009
Shenka--Circus Alberti
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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5 comments:
Wade - with regard to Ned - HAS anybody come right out and said why he was in the condition that he was in when he was seized?
I've heard "stomach problems" and "teeth problems" but nobody has confirmed or denied either cause that I am aware of. And I haven't heard any other causes being mentioned so who truly does know?
I understand that Ned is in his early 20s and a castrated bull that had previously been in first class ownership and thus had been in good condition earlier in his life.
Do you have to be licensed to own an elephant in the US?
Shenka is a different case, being an aged animal, but the question must be asked - was he in the right environment at his time of life? He certainly wasn't a good look in his last days but I'll bet he was a good looking boy in his day.
Steve,
We will have to wait for somebody else to answer that. I have only heard small reference to him, and it has been glowing. Animals like the circus seem to be much more revered in Europe. Barums Tsavo, and others are an example. It amazes me that the fans over there even know the names of most of the animals. Young Thomas is killing me always wanting the name of animals I worked with 30 years ago. I think he now understands, I different then what he see today, dealt with more animals in one year then most do in 15. LOL
Don't be to sure about Ned previously. There were some "control" issues, which is why he was sold for 1.00
Wade
"Control issues", sold for $1, then becomes a ride elephant????
How does that work?
According to the elephant database, Shenka was only 49. That's not young, but it certainly isn't terribly old for an elephant. They don't naturally die of old age at age 49; must have been some other underlying condition. I'd say he was a sick elephant, not such an old one.
Anon 2
Shenka was a muchloved elephant. He had thyroid problems in his later years, which made him lose weight and had trouble staying warm, he didn't like to go out of the truck or (heated) stable tent anymore. He had a good life with Stefan Frank
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