This past October AES directors were lucky to spend the weekend in Oklahoma City at the 37th annual Elephant Managers Association conference. Our pre-trip took us to the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo, OK. Then at the conference we were able to catch up with keynote speaker Dr. Josh Plotnik, founder of Think Elephants International, and his wife Cherry Plotnik, a Thai elephant vet. There was a wonderful array of presentations about training, vet care, enrichment, and of course, conservation. That Saturday we spent the day at the OKC Zoo where we learned more about their elephant program and got to see their beautiful barn and elephant yards. The weekend ended with a post-trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo where a herd of the new Swaziland imports are settling in nicely. All in all it was a fabulous time; the EMA is something we look forward to every year!
