AES Building Relationships at AAZK 2023

Recently, two of our board members made the trek to Akron, Ohio for the American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) Conference. This year we joined the AAZK as an official Conservation Partner. Many attendees to the conference stopped by the AES exhibitor table to chat and purchase some merchandise.  

At the conference our board members met with the AAZK board to discuss opportunities and additional ways to collaborate. We are  excited to grow our relationship with AAZK! 

A huge trunks-up to the AAZK board of directors and the Akron AAZK Chapter for their great hospitality and a successful conference! 
 

AES Directors, Mary and Mindy, making connections at Asian Elephant Support's conference table

The Trunk was Packed ...with Thanks!

This past January, AES President Linda Reifschneider, along with AES Volunteer Cynthia Christison, pointed Linda’s CRV southeast and began another road trip to say hello and thanks to some of AES’s wonderful supporters.
 
Their first stop was January 24th at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. It was great to say hello and thanks in person to Christi Reiter and Mike Burns. Linda first met Christi some years ago in St. Louis, and she has hosted a California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) fundraiser for AES ever since relocating to Tampa. Mike has been at Tampa ‘forever’ and stays amazingly slender (all that good elephant barn work?) in spite of the annual pizza pig out! Thank you Christi and Mike and all at ZooTampa who support AES every April with Pizza for Pachyderms!

(L-R) Elephant Enthusiast, Chris Wiberg,with AES Volunteer, Cynthia Christison, AES President, Linda Reifschneider and ZooTampa's Associate Curator of Elephants, Christi Reiter

On the 25th, Linda and Cynthia stopped by Dr. Mark Wilson’s Florida International Teaching Zoo. Always good to see what is new and going on there. His two very personable spotted hyenas, Charlie and Babe, are definitely Linda’s favorites. Then they all headed up to Two Tails Ranch for a visit and lunch in Williston with Dr. Mark and Two Tails owner Patricia Zerbini, who does an excellent elephant educational program for both school groups and the general public.
 

Jacksonville Zoo Team (L-R) Sabrina B., Shelby G., Amber G., Katie C., Corey N., Charley S., Zoey W., and Nicholas H.  

The 26th found Linda and Cynthia at the Jacksonville Zoo where they shared lots of hugs and smiles with so many friends who have had AES’s back annually hosting great CPK events. They had time to talk, a visit with the Zoo’s elephants and then spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Asian area of their zoo and a most enjoyable train ride – a great way to end a most enjoyable day! Thanks to all at Jacksonville!

Linda (center) with Jacksonville Elephant Keeper, Susan H. & Sheena

 
Thanks to Nick Newby for a great visit and overview of the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida on the 27th. After years of planning and construction, it was good to see how all the effort is coming together for the Asian elephants that have ‘unpacked their trunks’ at their new home. The remainder of the day was spent on the road with an evening destination in Macon, Georgia.
 

Cynthia (center) with Debbie & Nick from White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, FL

The 28th was a full day at Zoo Atlanta and Linda and Cynthia could not have had a better host than Kelly Garner. It is always appreciated when AES is asked to give a presentation about how we came to be and the work we do. At Zoo Atlanta they had a great audience and a wonderful zoo visit, including a neat meet and greet with a charming lady-hippo!
 
Last day – January 29th – found Linda and Cynthia having lunch with Jennifer Wu at a lovely Indian restaurant. A good warm-up for Linda’s upcoming trip to Delhi, India, for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Asian Elephant Specialist Group (thankfully usually written: IUCN AeSG!) meeting. Linda met Jennifer when the Nashville Zoo hosted the Elephant Managers Association Conference in 2015. She stepped up at that gathering and offered to be a host for our CPK event and hasn’t missed a year since, even though her career path has changed and her family has grown. Ahem, most recently by giving a forever home to a lucky Rizzy, a pooch in need that she offered to foster temporarily! One lucky pooch!

Linda with Jennifer Wu, a long-time supporter and host for Pizza for Pachyderms

 
The 30th they pointed the CRV toward St. Louis and another wonderful AES road trip will join the many before it and hopefully many still to come. Asian Elephant Support is so fortunate to have supporters all across the country. We could not be us without YOU! Thank you most sincerely for your dedication to the Today and Tomorrow of Asian elephants, of all elephants! And, thanks again, to Cynthia Christison for always being ready to pack a suitcase and keep Linda company as they rack up more miles saying hello and thank you to so many wonderful friends!

You Came, You Ate, You Raised Over $14,500 in the Fight Against EEHV

Trunks Up! go to the staff of Your Pie Grant Park & CPK restaurants across the U.S. for their hospitality

On April 25th & 26th, thousands of AES supporters across the United States came out for Pizza for Pachyderms 2023. We had 27 California Pizza Kitchen and the Atlanta, Georgia Your Pie restaurants host us for this event to help raise money in the battle against Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV). 

Young elephant enthusiasts enjoy pizza at CPK Tampa

While we are waiting for additional contributions to come in, our initial calculations indicate we raised over $14,500 to help fund both research and the treatment of elephants with the deadly disease in Asia.

Friends & docents at CPK St. Louis

Help us make it to $15,000!
Donate before May 31st and you can still make an impact on the fight against EEHV.

Click here to donate!

Los Angeles AAZK Chapter members & keepers grab a bite at CPK Burbank

We have so many people to thank for supporting and getting the word out about the event. These friends and organizations worked with us for months in the coordination leading up to this year's event and many have been participating in Pizza for Pachyderms for a decade or more! We are so grateful to everyone involved!

Adrienne Watkins
Annemarie Sandberg 
Anton Morrison
April Yoder
Ben Whitebread
Brent Atkinson
Charley Shepherd
Charlotte Trapman-O'Brien
Christi Reiter
Erin Dowgwillo
Janel Jankowski
Jared North
Jennifer Wu 
Joan Teske
Katrina Wilbanks
Kelly Garner 
Kelsey Eggers
Kim Klein
Laura Garcia
LeShea Cochu
Matt Pron
Maura Davis
Pat Maluy

America's Teaching Zoo, Moorpark College 
Columbus AAZK Chapter
Georgia AAZK Chapter
Greater Baltimore AAZK Chapter
Greater Houston AAZK Chapter
Greater New Jersey AAZK Chapter
High Forest AAZK Chapter
Honolulu Zoo
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens AAZK Chapter 
Los Angeles AAZK Chapter
Milwaukee County Zoo
New Mexico BioPark Society
Rocky Mountain AAZK Chapter
San Antonio AAZK Chapter
Santa Barbara Zoo
St. Louis AAZK Chapter
ZooTampa at Lowry Park

Photos above: Friends, family & colleagues came out in herds across the country to help make Pizza for Pachyderms 2023 a success at CPK restaurants in Hunt Valley, Ventura, Virginia Beach & Albuquerque

AES would also like to express our appreciation for the Staff and Management at all 27 participating California Pizza Kitchen restaurants and Your Pie Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia. We also would like to acknowledge Carol Flynn, Director of Marketing for California Pizza Kitchen for her continuing efforts to make the process of communicating with so many restaurants so seamless. We thank you all! 

AES Welcomes New Director, Mary Miller

Asian Elephant Support is pleased to introduce Mary Miller as our newest member of our Board of Directors. Mary has been in the field of animal care for seven years, with a focus on elephant care in more recent years as a Keeper and Trainer at Grant’s Farm, Memphis Zoo and now at Pittsburgh Zoo’s International Conservation Center.

AES's newest Director, Mary Miller, has been a long-time supporter of AES efforts to care for & conserve Asian elephants

Along with her work, Mary is a member of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and the Elephant Managers Association, where she is also a member of their Enrichment Committee. 

Prior to Mary joining the AES Board in March, she has been an active supporter of our projects and has worked diligently to raise money and awareness about our mission for many years. Mary was instrumental in coordinating successful fundraisers along with the Memphis AAZK Chapter, including a local Pizza for Pachyderms event and art auction to benefit EEHV (Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus) research and treatments.

Mary accepted the nomination to the AES Board in order to be able to help elephants in any way possible and encourage a new generation to get involved in elephant conservation through AES.

Welcome to Asian Elephant Support, Mary! The entire Board of AES is eager to work with you as you bring your enthusiasm and energy to the table to help Asian elephants in range countries.

AES Becomes a Conservation Partner with AAZK

Asian Elephant Support is pleased to announce that we were recently awarded Conservation Partnership status by the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK). AAZK is an organization dedicated to the development of animal care professionals, providing resources and opportunities for members to enhance their skills and knowledge in the field of zoo keeping. The organization is also a tremendous supporter of conservation projects around the globe, running successful programs like Bowling for Rhinos – which focuses on the conservation of the five species of rhinoceros found in both Africa and Asia, and Trees for You and Me which promotes carbon emissions reductions through various efforts including education and reforestation projects.

AES Board Directors with High Forest AAZK Chapter Members at the 2022 AAZK Conference in Toronto
 

Current AES Board Members, Lindsey Eagan, Liz Beem and Mindy Ussrey will attest that their love for elephants and passion to help conserve the species started when they were Keepers at their respective Zoos. AES has enjoyed the support of so many individual Zoo Keepers and AAZK Chapters across the United States as they helped to spread the word and support AES’s fundraising campaigns, like Pizza for Pachyderms over the years.

With this new partnership we hope to be able to reach out to more AAZK Chapters and animal care professionals for support with projects that promote our mission to care for and conserve elephants in Asian range countries.

We wish to thank the AAZK Conservation Committee for the confidence they have expressed in our work over the last decade and a half by awarding us this Conservation Partner status. And we look forward to working with AAZK and all of its Members to deliver a better future for Asian elephants.  

For more information about AAZK and the tremendous work they do, please visit their website - www.aazk.org. If you are a Zoo Keeper and belong to a local AAZK chapter, please email us to discuss more opportunities to work together.

There and Back Again

In October AES Board Members hit the road for two, very important conferences in the United States and Canada.

First, AES Founder and President, Linda Reifschneider met Vice President, Liz Beem in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to attend the first, in-person Elephant Managers Association (EMA) Conference in the two plus years since COVID-19 began. While the EMA held excellent virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021, there is nothing quite like this gathering when you can sit down and share elephant stories (and maybe a drink or two – after all it was Milwaukee).

There were a number of newer attendees, many of them presenting quality papers on elephant care and research. Linda and Liz were privileged to present AES’ latest work and upcoming projects to the audience and, as an added bonus, share a special, surprise tribute video to Linda on the occasion of her 80th birthday. To see this video, click here.

Linda with Cincinnati Zoo Elephant Manager & EMA Vice President, Cecil Jackson, Jr.

Susan from the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens with Liz on EMA Zoo Day

We would like to thank the staff from the Milwaukee County Zoo for welcoming everyone and being incredible hosts after a lot of planning and a pandemic. Our appreciation also goes to the Board and Committee Members from the Elephant Managers Association for once again providing an excellent opportunity to get together and work on improving the care of elephants across the globe and the skills and knowledge of caregivers.

Immediately following the close of the EMA Conference, Liz made her way to Buffalo, New York where she met up with AES Board Secretary, Mindy Ussrey. From here the two crossed the border into Toronto, Ontario, Canada to attend theAmerican Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK)Conference. This was the first time the AES Board has been able to attend this event and to say they were impressed is an understatement. While only there for a small bit of the Conference, Mindy and Liz participated in AAZK’s Conservation Rally on Friday night, informative paper sessions on Saturday and an incredible day enjoying the sites of the Toronto Zoo on Sunday.

Mindy & Liz (center) with Madeline & Laura from the High Forest AAZK Chapter in Tennessee

Liz & MIndy (back) with Michelle & Kelly from the Georgia AAZK Chapter in Atlanta

We’ve appreciated the passion and dedication of AAZK Members for a while, given their participation in many of our fundraising efforts over the years, and Mindy and Liz were thrilled to meet up with some of AES’ supporters who were in attendance. It was also terrific to make new connections for future partnerships.

Many thanks go to the Toronto Zoo for their hospitality and to the AAZK for putting together an incredible event providing tools and knowledge to Zoo Keepers and setting conservation action as a standard in this profession.We look forward to participating in these events again in 2023!

To learn more about the Elephant Managers Association, click here.
To learn more about the American Association of Zoo Keepers, click here.

A Trip Full of Thanks & Appreciation

With a serious itch to get on the road again, and a lot of good friends to say hello to, and to thank for their wonderful support to AES, President Linda and friend and AES volunteer, Cynthia Christison, headed out on July 4th for what would end up being an 8-day, 2600+ mile trip visiting 6 institutions with Asian and African elephants!

Cynthia & Linda with Little Rock Zoo's Asian elephants Zina & Babe

Linda with Black rhino calf, Kevin, from The Little Rock Zoo

An early start on July 4th allowed for a great visit with friends at Little Rock Zoo, both two and four-footed featuring baby black rhino, Kevin, whose antics we could have spent the full week watching. And it is always good to be able to say thanks to Little Rock Zoo for their consistent support over the years. Dinner and some good conversation with AES Advisor, Heidi Riddle, made this a very special 4th of July…and no burned fingers from fireworks!

July 5th was simply a drive day, although considering the temperatures during this trip, a day of enjoying the scenic miles in air-conditioning wasn’t all that bad. Our destination was Houston, TX, where, on July 6th, we had a great visit with the Houston Zoo elephant barn crew, again two and four-footed. Here, too, we could have put down roots for the week watching their three youngest elephants playing in the pool. Lunch with keepers and a chance to say thanks for their California Pizza Kitchen support this year made for a lovely day. The evening of the 6th ended with a very good visit with Linda’s cousin, George, and his wife, Sue, at a great Italian restaurant.

Cynthia and Linda enjoying their time with bull Asian elephant, Baylor, at the Houston Zoo

The Houston Herd

An early start on July 7th got us to San Antonio Zoo for lunch with members of the San Antonio American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) Chapter who had one wildly successful CPK event for us this year! And after a nice visit with keepers from several areas of the zoo, we joined a tour of the zoo’s hippo barn. A delightful, as well as educational, experience! Then back on the road to Fredericksburg, Texas for the evening.

Cynthia and Linda with members of the San Antonio AAZK Chapter

July 8th was a long overdue visit, thanks to a hectic travel schedule before and then the total ‘going nowhere’ of the pandemic, to very special friends at The Preserve in the hill country of Fredericksburg, Texas. It is so good to watch visitors enjoy while learning to understand and appreciate the wonderful creatures that are Asian elephants. And a late afternoon visit to a new winery, er, Rhinory! (Yep! Check out their website.)

Linda with good friends, Kari & Gary Johnson from The Preserve

Linda in her element, amongst the elephants from The Preserve

July 9th was a 400 mile drive to Hugo, Oklahoma, where we stayed overnight for a morning tour on the 10th of The Endangered Ark Foundation and visited with elephants and staff. Early afternoon we headed to Ft. Worth for the evening.

Linda & Cynthia with two & four-legged friends at The Endangered Ark Foundation

July 11th was a morning visit at the Ft. Worth Zoo and the last of our longer drives to Topeka, Kansas, where we visited our friends at the Topeka Zoo the morning of the 12th and, after lunch, pointed our noses toward home.

Eight days, 2,600+ miles, and visits with so many wonderful friends caring for elephants at six different institutions! It might sound exhausting, but spending time with those who are dedicated to caring for their elephants 24/7 and then still find the time and energy to help with the care and conservation work of elephants in both Asia and Africa is the best way to regenerate energy and enthusiasm for the work AES does. And having a great sidekick along is a huge plus on such adventures. Thanks, Cynthia!

2013 International Elephant & Rhino Conservation and Research Symposium

The 2013 International Elephant & Rhino Conservation and Research Symposium was presented by the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and was hosted by the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

Linda Presenting

Typically these foundations have separate symposiums, but elephants and rhinos share similar habitats and face similar conservation issues, so a joint meeting is only logical.  This was the third time these organizations have come together to share information and research project results on conservation issues such as human conflict mitigation, management, health, nutrition, and reproduction.  Participants were from around the world including the US, Canada, Germany, France, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Uganda, and South Africa.

There were over 65 presentations ranging from the latest research on the elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHV), to the translocation of black rhinos, to how captive elephants can benefit wild populations. AES president, Linda Reifschneider, gave a presentation on AES’ activities for the last year and the importance of collaboration.  
directors

Directors April, Linda, and Sharon

While the presentations were very enlightening, many valuable conversations also occurred during the social events. some of the best ideas are written on a cocktail napkin!

While elephants and rhino populations are disappearing at an alarming rate, the information that is shared at these symposiums will provide a framework for preserving both of these magnificent species.  Thank you to the International Elephant Foundation, the International Rhino Foundation, and the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium for providing this great educational and networking opportunity.