Celebrating Veterinary Technician Week October 11-17, 2020

This week, the nation and the world will honor a group of important individuals who make animals' lives a whole lot better - The Vet Tech!

All across the world, Veterinary Technicians are making a difference for our beloved elephants. The Vet Techs working in Asian range countries are some of the most deserving of appreciation this week. They have dedicated their lives to protect and advance care and welfare of elephants in Asian range countries. They work tirelessly, across remote locations, in all weather and facility conditions, without fail.

We at AES support them in their mission to improve elephant welfare and the humane treatment of elephants.

Please enjoy this video tribute to Veterinary Technicians caring for elephants in Asia .

Trunks Up to Audubon Zoo!

Mandy Turnbull of the Audubon Zoo elephant staff reports on their recent fundraiser for AES:

Audubon Zoo animal care staff in New Orleans is so excited to have the opportunity to support the fantastic work of Asian Elephant Support. In August this year we ran two events to raise funds. We were able to partner with a local sports league to provide a fun night of beer and bingo at one of our local breweries.

Port Orleans generously donated 15% of their profits for the day, and we hope that Pints for Pachyderms will become an annual fundraising event. We also sold travel wine tumblers (because the go-cup is a New Orleans staple!), and it was so popular that we reopened that sale for those that missed the first round.

Both of these fundraisers were in honor of our elephant Panya who arrived at Audubon in 1980 and who we lost in March this year at the age of 55. We are thrilled that in her memory we can support Asian Elephants in range countries through the great works of AES, and we hope this is a partnership that continues for many years.

Welcome Mindy Ussrey to the Board of Directors!

AES Welcomes Mindy Ussrey to its Board of Directors. Mindy started out as a zookeeper at the Topeka Zoo in 2004. She then took her love for elephants to Jacksonville Zoo for over a year before heading to Buffalo to become the Elephant Manager and animal behavior manager from 2011-2018. Through her dedication and passion for elephants she has been an enthusiastic fundraiser for AES. She can’t wait to see how AES grows and prospers.

2018 Annual Board Meeting

This past June Turk and Vanessa headed up to St. Louis to meet Barb and Linda for the 2018 Annual AES Board Meeting.  Vanessa and Turk spent that Friday, June 8th, at the Cahokia mounds in Illinois and the City Museum in downtown STL to celebrate Vanessa's birthday.  Then we held AES meetings both Saturday and Sunday to plan out our next year's worth of activities and fundraisers.  Saturday night we were lucky to have a nice dinner planned at a local pub where we all visited with keepers and docents from Grant's Farm and St. Louis Zoo.  Vanessa and Turk visited the STL Zoo Sunday and enjoyed meeting up with their elephant keepers for a special training demonstration with Rajah on exhibit.  That Monday, Turk and Vanessa headed home and stopped at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, MO to see their elephant program and meet their keepers.  We look forward to sharing all of these exciting new ideas in the coming months with you.  Thank you for your continued support and helping us help elephants.

Little Rock Zoo Elephant Appreciation Day 2017

ELEPHANTS HELPING ELEPHANTS….and having fun doing so!

Linda, Carl, and the LRZ Elephant Crew

Little Rock Zoo and the Little Rock Zoo American Association of Zoo Keepers have most generously helped fund Asian Elephant Support’s work for many years and 2017 was no exception.  Returning from a month in Kenya on 20 September, Linda and Carl hit the road heading toward Little Rock on the 21st…with all the nonprofit items packed and ready to roll.  No way would we not be there for an event that would benefit Asian Elephant Support’s work as well as the great enthusiasm and friendship enjoyed whenever we head to the Pecan and Pine Tree State!

Babe artfully expressing herself

Like AES, Little Rock Zoo and her public truly appreciate Asian elephants and a good turnout was experienced all three days (22nd-24th) with lots of keeper chats, special treats for Zina, Sophie, and Babe, and the opportunity for the public to enter the elephants’ barn to see their digs and some of their toys as well as the equipment used to keep them healthy and happy.  Babe, the consummate artist, painted over 100 canvases for the three-day event, and almost every one was sold, with all proceeds to AES to help her wild cousins in range countries.  Babe was born in one of the Myanma Timber Enterprise camps in Myanmar, and had been tattooed with the MTE star brand before coming to America with several other MTE juveniles.  The star inevitably brings lots of comments and questions from the public who have not previously met Babe and thus opens the way for some good conversations and educational moments for Little Rock Zoo’s visitors.

Our table of materials

In addition to donations and sales of AES merchandise during the event, a month later at the Elephant Managers Association conference in Columbus, OH, Little Rock AAZK’s Kristin Warner presented AES with a check for $1,269 representing the proceeds from the event.  We can only promise to use this gift as thoughtfully as possible to best help elephants in Asia as our friends (people and elephants!) in Little Rock would want. 

Beautiful collage of elephant art

Linda presenting

Our logo hand drawn in sidewalk chalk

Thanks again to keepers Kristin Warner, Johnny Renuard, Justin Marren, Ellie Wheeler, Ashley Davenport, Little Rock AAZK, Susan Altrui, Zoo Director, and the very special Zina, Sophie, and 'the Babe with the star on her hip'......  Your kindness to us and commitment to Asian elephants is truly appreciated!
 

Texas Trip, July 2017

VISITING FRIENDS IN TEXAS

In July, president Linda combined a family reunion in Galveston with visits to the San Antonio Zoo, to meet and thank the keepers there who came on board this year to host a California Pizza Kitchen event, and to stop by and say hello to all our friends at the Houston Zoo.

We were welcomed warmly by Jonathan Reding, curator at the San Antonio Zoo, and met their elephants, had lunch, and shared our concerns about Asian elephants.

Linda was going to visit Houston until she saw a new calf had arrived so she decided to send congratulations but defer her visit to another time.  You know how it is with a new baby, everyone involved is VERY busy!  However, Shanti was very experienced and calm and the new little girl, Joy, was doing very well.  They were being introduced to their adoring public, so almost to Austin on the way home to St. Louis, Linda, and an obliging Carl, did a (ahem) slight detour back to Houston.  How very worth the added miles, and all our best wishes and congratulations go out to the Houston Elephant Barn crew and their wonderful Asian elephants.

A Gathering in Texas

AES's 2017 Annual In-Person Meeting

With directors not all located in easy driving distance of each other, our monthly board meetings are via conference call.  Once a year, in June, we gather together for both the joy of working together in person and enjoy some socializing ‘after business hours’.

This year again finds us in Lewisville, Texas, with our meetings held at Vanessa Gagne’s home. With two small daughters, this arrangement made the most sense and also allowed us the opportunity to visit Ft. Worth Zoo, where our new director, Christine (Turk) Del Turco is one of the elephant keepers.

From our June newsletter you would have seen that our annual meeting this year saw us both say thanks and goodbye to April Yoder, who had been an AES director and officer for over 7 years, while at the same time welcoming Christine Del Turco to our board.  Turk is no stranger to AES; she has been there helping with our annual CPK event as well as doing other fundraisers on behalf of our work.

The meeting was a very productive one and some of our plans will be unveiled in future newsletters during the year.

Welcome Christine Del Turco!

It is an honor for us to welcome Christine Del Turco (Turk) as a new member of the AES board of directors.  Turk comes to us with extensive hands on elephant experience; an essential asset to our operations.  She has an animal behavior degree from Delaware Valley University and a passion for training and enrichment.  Christine currently works at the Fort Worth Zoo where she cares for Asian elephants, Greater One Horned Rhinos, and Nile Hippopotamus.  We knew she would be a perfect fit after she put so much time and effort into making this year’s CPK fundraiser our best year ever - rallying elephant people from across the country.  Her involvement in the Elephant Managers Association over the years has also helped her become a prominent figure in the elephant community.  On a personal note, I am thankful to be working alongside Turk in this capacity.  Once upon a time in my first elephant internship, Turk was my supervisor.  She selflessly lifted me up and gave me guidance time and time again to help me get to where I am today.  We are looking forward to what AES will become with her involvement.  

Vanessa, Linda, and Barbara

Farewell to Director and VP April Yoder

Many of our readers know April Yoder.  She worked hands-on with elephants at various facilities for over 22 years and joined AES as a Director in 2010.

I still consider us a very new nonprofit, with just over a decade under our belt.  April was there in our infancy when we were still trying to figure out who we were and how we could best have an impact on the care and conservation of elephants in Asian range countries….  Especially those people whose lives are intertwined by sharing living space with elephants or the veterinarians and researchers dedicated to the future of Asian elephants.

From fundraising, to writing articles, editing newsletter material, doing outreach events, and everything else that seems to come in between, April has always been there to see that the job got done, and done very well.

Life definitely is a journey and, while April’s life path is veering off from being an officer/director part of the AES team, she will remain as one of our advisers and always committed to elephant conservation.

Vanessa and I met and knew April through the Elephant Managers Association conferences, the EMA being a great gathering organization for those truly concerned about all elephants.  It has been a joy having April on our team for all these years.   And I personally want to say thank you to April in our newsletter – a very special thank you for all the highs and lows our shared path followed: our common concern and caring for the Big Ones got us through a lot of growing pains to an always ever-better AES!  

Thank you, April.  We’ll miss you at our board meetings.  I’ll miss emailing you constantly with questions, ideas…  all those things that come from the early days of a nonprofit.  We thank you for staying available to us on an adviser basis and wish you all the best going forward.

Linda, Vanessa, and Barbara

Asian EEHV Working Group

In November 2016, AES president Linda Reifschneider attended the second meeting of the Asian EEHV Working Group, a group of veterinarians, elephant managers, researchers, and mahouts who are committed to providing the best care possible for elephants.  In our February 2017 Newsletter we gave an overview of Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV)  and its devastating impact on Asian elephants, especially young calves, worldwide.

However, we are Asian Elephant Support, and the meeting was an eye-opening but honest wakeup call about how very much needs to be done throughout the Asian range countries to prevent deaths due to EEHV.  There the largest number of Asian elephant calves is born and, tragically, many are dying without proper diagnosis of EEHV, much less the needed equipment, supplies, and training - not just of veterinarians but also of mahouts and owners – to enable them to both identify the disease and be able to initiate treatment in the very narrow window for possible survival.

Polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) machine

To this end, AES has made their first commitment of $3,000 to cover the airfare of six participants in a three-day training workshop at Kasetsart University in Thailand.  This laboratory is well-equipped and easily accessible to participants traveling internationally from the range countries.  The workshop will provide training in the molecular diagnostics of EEHV, as well as educating the attendees in sample collecting and planning for EEHV cases.

The second phase of this project is to support the travel of two or three of the participants from the first training workshop to additional Southeast Asian countries to implement secondary workshops for more wildlife health professionals.  This approach will increase the region’s capacity to continue providing training in EEHV diagnostic techniques, allowing for the training of others in their own labs.  To date, individuals from Kasetsart University (Thailand), National Trust for Nature Conservation (Nepal), and University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) are willing to serve as secondary trainers.  They plan on training a total of 15 additional researchers in ten labs in Asia to perform the molecular diagnostics for EEHV.

Laboratory equipment

Only 30,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild, scattered across fragmented habitats in 13 Asian countries.  EEHV is a significant threat to the survival of this vulnerable species.  The formation of the Asian EEHV Working Group together with the National Elephant Herpes Laboratory (NEHL) providing training, chemical reagents, and diagnostic equipment in Southeast Asia – with the collaborative support of AES and other organizations – is a critical step toward successfully confronting this disease in Asian range countries.  Make no mistake; it won’t be easy or quick.  But almost 100 cases have been confirmed in Asia to date, with many more deaths suspected but unconfirmed because of the difficulty of diagnosing EEHV in wild elephants and the lack of testing capacity in the range countries.    After accurate diagnosis in the lab comes training in the field, for owners and mahouts to be able to identify and respond in the small window this disease offers for possible survival.  

AES will continue to help with funding as applicable and possible.  To this end, any supporters who would want to make a gift to AES specifically toward this effort can note on their checks or PayPal donations “EEHV”.  Thank you!

2016 EMA Conference

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!

President Linda's Road Trip

AN AUGUST ADVENTURE….  A road trip to visit elephants and their keepers.                     

This trip actually began a year ago when I was invited out to Woodland Park Zoo to represent Asian elephants at their Asian Animals Festival.  It wasn’t possible for me to make that trip but I asked for a raincheck and so planned for a year to attend their 2016 event.  I’ll begin telling you about this trip by saying that I managed to plan a 19-day, 10-zoo, family, and donor trip all around the wrong date for Woodland Park’s 2016 Asian Animals Festival!  My thanks to a most generous Bobbi Miller and all at Woodland Park for a gracious ‘save’, allowing me to give a presentation about AES’ work to a very enthusiastic crowd, as well as have a wonderful visit - on the 16th of August.

But, let’s start the trip at the beginning.  Cynthia Christison, an AES supporter and volunteer, agreed to accompany me on this trip, and I’ll admit up front that it would not have been as easy or as much fun had I covered what ended up being 6,126 miles on my own!  An elephantine Trunks Up! to Cynthia.

We departed St. Louis on August 10th, with our first destination the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, where elephant keeper, Joel Locke, introduced us to their African elephants. It is always good to ‘talk elephants’ and especially hear how these were settling into their new home.  We had visited last year when the new barn and yards were under construction, so it was delightful to see it now finished, and inhabited!  The next day, we checked out Fort Laramie (because we could) and made a spur of the moment decision to follow a sign saying Riverside Park Zoo in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  A little and quite lovely zoo, and a good break in a long day of driving.

Seattle is a good distance from Omaha, so we routed ourselves up through the Grand Tetons and included a drive-through of Yellowstone, eating our lunch while awaiting Old Faithful to, well, be faithful. 

Arriving at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington, the morning of August 15th my first surprise was hearing someone call, “Linda!” and see Bruce Johnson, a fellow traveler with director Barbara Davis and I, on a zookeeper trip to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in 2011.  Friend Melissa Crandall and her hubby, Ed, from Connecticut, were also visiting.  After my presentation to staff and volunteers, John Houck, Deputy Director, Melissa, Ed, Cynthia, and I enjoyed a great seafood lunch on the wharf, which is practically a next door neighbor to the zoo – and with a great view of Mt. Rainier!   After lunch, John took us on a wonderful tour of the Point Defiance Zoo and elephant keepers Katie Burone and Piper Lieper were generous with their time, showing us the barn and introducing us to their Asian elephants, Hanako and Suki.  John, Katie, and Piper, were new acquaintances, and as this trip proved over again and again, whether making new friends or reacquainting with old ones, talking elephants with those who know these amazing creatures the best and are definitely the most dedicated to them always energizes my own commitment.

Tuesday, August 16th: the day that isn’t Woodland Park Zoo’s Asian Animal Festival!  What a gracious and enthusiastic group of people.  The morning started having coffee and talking elephants with Bobbi and several of the docents particularly concerned about Asian elephants. Among them was Sue Connell who I first met on River’s Edge when I was on docent duty at the Saint Louis Zoo…but we knew of each other from AES’ work in Sumatra which Woodland Park Zoo, including their docents, help fund.  I was humbled by the large audience of volunteers and staff that filled the auditorium for my presentation.  It was good to get to say hello to Fred Koontz and Pat Maluy, who I met a few years ago but haven’t seen recently.  Cynthia and I spent the afternoon visiting all of the zoo and everywhere we went, if we had a question, it was answered quickly, as I’ve yet to meet so many and such enthusiastic docents as greeted us throughout the day.  And I promised Bobbi that if she invites me to a future Asian Animals Festival, I will definitely get the day right!

The next morning finds us at the Oregon Zoo in Portland where we meet up with Sharon Glaeser, a dear friend who was a director of AES in our early days and remains chair of our grants committee.  Sharon has been involved with elephant research at the Oregon Zoo for many years and takes us on a grand tour of their exciting new elephant barn and yards.  I have had the pleasure of visiting Oregon Zoo a few times in past years, so met both old and new friends, and always good to see their Asians: Packy, Shine, Rose-Tu, Chendra, Sam, and their little Lily.

A stop in Fremont, California, to say thank you in person to generous AES supports, George and Carol Spindler, resulted in a delightful evening visit with them, meeting their daughter, Heather, and their two rescue pooches: Lady and Bella.  My initial suggestion that we meet at a restaurant was overrode by a lovely home cooked dinner.  A real treat when on the road for as long as we will be! 

Friday, August 19th, we drive from Fremont to Fresno and visit the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.  At present, they have both Asian and African elephants and elephant keeper Kim Cook spent her day off at the zoo with us.  I presented our work to both the Asian and African elephant keepers using our printout of the power point presentation, and it is delightful to hear about their elephants while watching them in person.  I knew Amy from her story, A Cowboy and His Elephant, long before I met her when she resided with our friends, Scott and Heidi Riddle, where she gave birth to her daughter, Miss Betts.  Heck, I first met Miss Betts as an ultrasound image which her human ‘mom’ convinced me was just the most beautiful little elephant ever.  Kim has been hosting an annual CPK event for us and this was a great opportunity to give her our sincere thanks in person.

The beautiful scenery continues as we next head to Santa Barbara, California, and the Santa Barbara Zoo.  Our first stop is a visit with Connie Speight, a friend I first met some years ago in Thailand, each of us working on behalf of Asian elephants via our separate nonprofit organizations.  Connie has a beautiful home in the foothills.  The billowing smoke from a wildfire on the other side of the Ynez Mountains is hugely impressive but not a threat….this time!  Connie also was a docent and supporter of the Santa Barbara Zoo for years so she joined us the following morning when we visited and I presented AES to their staff and volunteers.  Liz Beem and Liz Wilson, elephant keepers, have been hosting a CPK event for AES for the last five years; we see each other at the EMA conferences and they changed their Elephant Appreciation Day to coincide with our visit.  It was great to visit again with them and Sujatha (Suzie) and Little Mac, their Asian elephants.  A nice buffet lunch was served to all attending the presentations (I did two) and the afternoon was spent up by the elephant’s yard with AES brochures to share with any interested visitors while watching Suzie and Little Mac and all the elephant-related activities.  A truly lovely day, capped off with a wonderful seafood dinner on the oceanfront. 

Next stop: Los Angeles Zoo where Cynthia’s cousin, Jan Jashinski, joined us for a look at their Asian elephants, although we didn’t get to see their bull, Billy; then lunch, a train ride, a stop at Jan’s home and then off to Perris, California.  Perris?  California?  Yes.  We wanted to be on time the next morning for our visit at Have Trunk, Will Travel.  Gary and Kari Johnson, Joann Smith, and three of their Asian elephants -Tai (I’m her #1 Groupie!), Rosie, and Kitty - made for a truly wonderful morning of being with elephants the way I need to be with elephants, up close, hands on.  We talked elephants for a good four hours while we scrubbed, touched, watched, and simply enjoyed being in the company of Kitty, Rosie, and Tai.  And, these people do so much to support Asian elephant medical research and conservation efforts…..this opportunity to be with them again reminds me just why I care so much about this specie’s ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’. 

Early afternoon we drove on to San Diego for three nights at my son’s home with plans to visit the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  My daughter-in-law, Geesoo, is always a lovely hostess with great kitchen talents, so again we had a nice respite from restaurants.  And, of course, it is always good to see my family: Mario helped me with my phone; Rostam helped me with my computer, and their two Maltepoos, Georgie and Charlie, provided some good pooch time.  We did visit the San Diego Zoo; sadly the day after the euthanasia of their ailing elderly bull, Ranchipur.  I am glad I had the opportunity to see him on earlier visits and was there at this time to offer my condolences to their keepers who were very visible to their public answering questions and sharing their mutually sad moment.  In spite of the circumstances, had very good visits with Robbie Clark, who has been caring for Ranchipur for the last four years and Victoria Zahn, who has been a keeper with elephants and now rhinos and whom I will be rooming with at the IEF/IRF Symposium in Singapore In November.   Our second day in San Diego was to be the Wild Animal Park.  It’s wonderful; I was there a few months ago with my family and thoroughly enjoyed it.  However, without a specific contact to meet, Cynthia and I decided we needed a ‘day off’ and so we enjoyed the pool and the beach and both seeing and sampling some of San Diego with Geesoo chauffeuring (the only day I never drove!). 

Tucson, Arizona was our destination on the 26th, and arrived late afternoon at the home of Rich and Wanda Johnson, dear friends (and AES supporters) I’ve known for many decades.  It was a lovely visit and another night not in a Super 8 or Days Inn – thank you Rich and Wanda.  A scrumptious hot breakfast before we headed to the Reid Park Zoo while Rich and Wanda readied to leave that afternoon for a week’s vacation.  My friend Jenny Joyce, elephant manager at Grants Farm in St. Louis, introduced me to Mara Jameson and the initial understanding was she would not be in today but another keeper would visit with us.  So, when we got to the elephant exhibit and met Savannah, I just dove in asking questions and presuming she had come out to greet us.  Ahem. She really was headed to do something else but was most accommodating and friendly, and then Mara showed up and spent the rest of the morning with us.  I often visited Reid Park back when they had two elephants: Asian, Connie, and African, Shaba and while I loved past visits with them, it was really good to be introduced to each of their new African elephants as well as seeing their great new facility.

Last stop!  August 28th we visit the ABQ BioPark Zoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.   Here again I thank Jenny Joyce for introducing me to Rhonda Saiers, elephant manager, who wasn’t at the zoo that day but had keeper, Debra Valquez, meet us and introduce us to all their elephants and visit their barns.  I had been there when they hosted an EMA Conference several years ago, so it was good to see their new barn and become reacquainted with their Asian elephants.  It was a great finale for our trip.

August 29th:  6,126 miles and back in my own driveway!  Again, my thanks to Cynthia Christison for making this journey with me.  Whether renewing friendships or making new acquaintances, I am always so humbled by the welcome all these very busy elephant keepers afford us.  I guess it’s simply that common bond of dedication to this amazing species that pulls us all together.  While I love learning the elephants’ stories and the history of elephants in this country, what really matters is sharing our thoughts and hopes and the ways we are all making an effort for the future of all elephants.  Asian as well as African numbers are spiraling downward in a horribly frightful fashion.  Poaching is taking a toll, yes; but so too is loss of habitat and the resulting human-elephant conflict.  I hope someday we will have sustainable populations of Asian and African elephants in this country.  But it is imperative we also help them manage to not just survive, but to thrive, in their native lands.  I felt the synergy amongst all the wonderful people I met on this trip – zoo staff, keepers, docents, volunteers.  It lifts me up and I hope we will work together even more in the future.  And none of what we do would be possible without YOU, our donors, and our supporters.  Elephants truly need our help.  Thank you so much for being that ‘wind beneath our wings’!

Linda Reifschneider

President's Trip to India

Dr. Kushal works on an elephant

First stop was Guwahati, to visit Dr. Kushal Sarma at the University where he teaches, and then accompany him to Kaziranga National Park.  On the border of the park, Linda got to participate in one of the many elephant health clinics that Dr. Sarma holds regularly for the private owners of elephants, many of whom are poor and therefore their elephants would not get necessary medical attention and preventatives were it not for Dr. Sarma’s effort and AES’ funding.  It was especially good to meet some of the people and elephants Dr. Sarma has told us about over the years.  After the health clinic, an afternoon of Kaziranga-style safari offered several viewings of the Greater One Horn Rhinoceros, another species both Dr. Sarma and Linda are particularly fond of.

President Linda with the Veterinary Workshop attendees

The second stop was attending the Regional Asian Elephant & Tiger Veterinary Workshop at the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.  Dr. Arun Zachariah, professor at the University, and wildlife veterinarian AES has funded, was the host of this workshop funded by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and facilitated by AES.  Several veterinarians AES has funded were in attendance so it was a great opportunity to catch up in person.

Linda and Mamatha

The last few days of this trip were spent with Mamatha Sathyanarayana, the educator working with mahouts at some of the forest department elephant camps.  In addition to a visit to the Dubare Elephant Camp, as well as a game drive in Bandipur National Park where we did see a tiger, Mamatha introduced Linda to many of the historic places in the Mysore area….as well as a stop at a small jaggery factory where we not only saw sugar cane being turned into sugar, we also got to taste it!

This trip will be detailed in multiple newsletter articles as it presented AES with the opportunity to visit in person with several people we have funded, meet new people who are also doing excellent work on behalf of elephants, and learn a bit more about the marvelous continent that is home to the largest population of Asian elephants.

2015 EMA Conference

Greetings from Bulwagi!  Conference attendees followed up the Nashville Zoo week with a post trip down south to see the Birmingham Zoo

Early October found elephant professionals and enthusiasts from across the United States and abroad gathering in Nashville, Tennessee, for the 36th annual Elephant Managers Association conference. These events provide a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, share accomplishments, and just talk about elephants. We even got to experience the flavor of the Grand Ole Opry.  President, Linda Reifschneider, and Secretary, Vanessa Gagne, were in attendance to represent Asian Elephant Support and Linda presented the past year’s projects and updates. It is always a pleasure to be able to share our efforts and to talk to the people that do so much for elephants on a daily basis, but still find time to help support our efforts.  We gained a lot of new supporters and we were able to get our message out to a lot of new EMA members. Our information table was a busy spot for exchanging news and ideas!  This year’s conference took a much different approach than those of the last few years; the main goal was to find out how we, as the elephant community, can best serve one another by becoming more cohesive.  This change in attitude will not only improve the care of elephants at Western facilities, but that information can be shared to improve the lives of elephants around the world.  We are very excited and pleased to be working alongside elephant professionals in the EMA to better serve elephants and their caretakers. 

2015 AAZK Conference

23 year old Asian bull, Raja in full musth and listening intently during a training session with keepers

President Linda Reifschneider (left) and Secretary Vanessa Gagne (right)

September 2015 AAZK held their national conference in St. Louis, MO, which is also the headquarters of Asian Elephant Support.  AES President Linda Reifschneider is a 20+ year docent at the St. Louis Zoo and personally offered to sponsor one of the breaks during the presentations.  The AAZK hosts offered her a table to introduce AES to attendees.  AES Secretary Vanessa Gagne registered to attend the conference; and thus we enjoyed a week with dedicated animal care professionals and the opportunity to ‘talk elephants’ for many, many hours!  Vanessa signed up for the elephant workshop hosted by the St. Louis Zoo elephant staff.  It was a 12 hour credit course offered through the professional development committee of AAZK.  She was able to meet many elephant professionals from around the country and learn about the elephant management program at the St. Louis Zoo.  Linda and Vanessa were impressed with the turnout and the diversity of information presented by the zookeepers in attendance as well as enjoying the company of such dedicated, capable, and enthusiastic people.

2015 Annual Board Meeting

Our 2015 Annual Board Meeting was held June 12th-14th, at our President’s home in St. Louis, MO. AES directors reside in the St. Louis, Dallas, and Norfolk, VA, areas and monthly meetings are held by conference call,  so the annual in-person meeting is always a special time to work in person as well as enjoy each other’s company.  Directors arrived early Friday enabling a good half day’s work session, a full day’s work on Saturday, and a wrap-up session Sunday morning.  April and Vanessa took Sunday afternoon to visit Grant’s Farm and their African elephant program, while Barbara helped Linda set up for Sunday evening’s dinner which included keepers from both Grant’s Farm and Saint Louis Zoo’s elephant barns and our St. Louis CPK volunteers.

Vanessa snapped a shot of African bull Bud enjoying some fresh branches outside of his exhibit perimeter during zoo day at Grant's Farm

From left:  director Barbara Davis, secretary Vanessa Gagne, president Linda Reifschneider, and vice president April Yoder

President's Outreach at Topeka Zoo

Linda receiving the gift of a sketch which incorporates our logo into a full body elephant

President Linda Reifschneider was invited to participate in the Topeka Zoo’s Conservation Conversation series on May 14th, discussing the care and conservation of Asian elephants in range countries. Linda always enjoys visiting the Topeka Zoo family.  And Wrylie Guffey, who extended the invitation, is an important Asian Elephant Support volunteer with her help on our website.

AES President Meets with Dr. Kushal

AES President Linda Reifschneider flew to Raleigh, North Carolina, April 8th-11th, for an update in person with Dr. Kushal K. Sarma, our veterinarian friend from the Assam, India, area who, with AES funding, has held elephant healthy clinics as well as making emergency ‘house calls’ when needed.  Dr. Sarma was an instrumental participant in the Elephants on the Line community conservation program taking place in Bhutan and northern India and was in Raleigh, NC, as guest of Scott and Lisa Mills, to present to various university and public audiences about this conservation effort.  It was good to visit with Dr. Sarma again in person, Linda having met him a few years ago at a veterinary workshop in Sumatra.  His presentation was most informative and attention riveting as this is a veterinarian who works hands on with both captive and wild Asian elephants needing his expertise.  It was also good to meet Scott and Lisa and hear about their efforts and commitment to this community based program.

35th Annual EMA Conference

Director Vanessa Gagne, President Linda Reifschneider, and Vice President April Yoder

This year the Elephant Manager's Association conference was held in Toledo, Ohio and hosted by the Toledo Zoo.  Ben Whitebread, their elephant manager, and his crew put together a wonderful program full of a wide variety of topics to both educate and entertain.  AES was well represented at the conference with three directors and one chairperson in attendance.  AES president Linda Reifschneider presented on behalf of AES, while Vice President, April Yoder presented on behalf of the EMA Conservation Committee (another hat she wears). You may remember in the past an effort in collaboration with the EMA to provide hoof knives for mahouts in Assam, India.  This year AES is supporting the EMA/IEF effort to raise funds for the knives which will be sent to Myanmar this go around.

We were also pleased to become reacquainted with the two co-founders of Wildlife SOS, Geeta Sheshamani and Kartick Satyanarayan, who work diligently in India to rescue and rehabilitate not just elephants, but sloth bears among many other animals in need.  We discussed the possibility of collaborating with SOS Wildlife in the future and will be looking for ways to work together to improve the care and conservation of elephants in India.

All in all the trip was full of friends and colleagues, old and new, the chance to visit two elephant programs at both Toledo and Cleveland, and two days full of engaging presentations.  Again, we'd like to thank the Toledo Zoo and all of those who made this conference possible.

2014 Annual Board Meeting

Our 2014 annual meeting was held in Norfolk, Virginia, the weekend of May 30-June 2.  The meeting was held at the offices of Atlantic Commtech Corp and our thanks to Mr. Kelly Thorp for making his conference room (and coffee pot!) available to us. Saturday began with an early walk on the beach with host, Director April Yoder, and her canine companion, Minnie, followed by a full day of work, interrupted only for lunch and dinner.  We met again all day Sunday, with the exception of a break to visit the Virginia Zoo and their two African elephants, Cita and Lisa, and keepers Jason and Denise.  It was a very productive weekend and offered the great perk of some really wonderful seafood dining.