Tag Archives: elephant

Help Complete The Elephant Leg Factory

Mosha Wearing LegD The prosthetic leg factory, just for elephants, will soon be operating at Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in Thailand. This is a unique and wonderful facility that can make and repair custom-fit artificial limbs for elephants who need them.

Why do elephants need replacement legs? For the same reason people do. Something horrible has happened to these elephants and one of their legs was damaged so badly that it needed to be amputated. The most common situation is that a working elephant accidentally steps on a hidden land mine from some long forgotten conflict in Southeast Asia. In seconds, massive amounts of flesh are shredded, leaving the poor, unsuspecting elephant to limp back to its camp.

An elephant with half a leg can barely walk, much less work. The most dire option is to mercifully euthanize the elephant. Nobody wants that option if there is any hope whatsoever. Today, there is.

LegFactoryEquip3Friends of the Asian Elephant is dedicated to treating sick and injured elephants in the Thailand – Burma area. They have worked with leading prosthetics doctors to develop an artificial leg that can take the weight of a walking elephant, yet cause no pain or further damage.

The legs work beautifully. Two pioneering patients, Mosha and Motala, have proven that elephants nearly killed from exploding land mines can recover and lead relatively normal elephant lives. The only problem remaining is that the legs need frequent repairs from the enormous stresses of movement. Growing younger elephants, like Mosha, need new legs the way we need new and larger pairs of shoes as we grow up. Often this means long waits for equipment and expertise to arrive at the hospital.

LegFactory021316EAThis is what the new elephant prosthetic leg “factory” will fix. A building has been constructed on-site and tools and equipment ordered. Everything is being installed right now. Within the next month, they hope to start working on the first elephant leg repairs and replacements.

Does this sound like a worthy effort that you would like to help finish? Your support is needed right now to pay for all of the construction, specialized equipment, tools, and supplies that are needed to make new elephant “legs.” We’ve raised over half the amount required, and now must make a final push to collect the money needed to pay the bills and ensure that when elephants need legs, everything will be there to make or repair them.

Please consider making a donation right now, while you are thinking of it. Any amount from $10 on up will be greatly appreciated. Our CrowdRise fundraiser can take credit card payments worldwide.

Make Your Christmas Sparkle & Help Elephants

If you love elephants, you’ll love Sparkle. She’s a baby elephant sized wire frame holiday display that glows a beautiful golden color under your tree or, perhaps out in the yard. Yes, we did auction one of her sisters last year as a fundraiser for Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in Thailand. No, the Sparkle in this picture is ours and she stays with us. You’ll be bidding on another of her identical twins through our eBay auction that is currently in progress.

Sparkle elephant at homeDo you think that maybe you’ve seen this Gemmy Sparkle ornament on display at Lowe’s? You might of last year, but they are not offering an elephant display this year. In fact, I couldn’t find her or anything similar even on the Gemmy site. That makes Sparkle and her sisters rare, indeed, and getting rarer and they are adopted into good homes. Really, who’s going to let go of this precious elephant once she moves into their home?

Did I mention that your winning bid not only gets you this exciting holiday elephant but also helps elephants? It’s true. In fact, I’m donating 100% of the winning bid price on eBay once again to the Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital. Shipping costs vary, so you’ll be responsible for that.

Don’t think about this for too long. It’s a one week auction and we already have an opening bid. Join in the fun and perhaps get your own brand new in-the-box Sparkle elephant in plenty of time for holiday cheer. Here’s the listing link again.

Good Luck!

Update Sunday, October 11, 2015: Congratulations to Nancy Nortell for being the big winner of this eBay auction in support of FAE. 

Help Make the Movie, “Gods in Shackles”

Sangita Iyer, an award winning journalist and nature & wildlife documentary film maker, is on a mission to free elephants in India from their shackles. Her vehicle is a dramatic movie now in production called “Gods in Shackles.”

Elephant leg wound.The title is literally the problem. Temple elephants suffer deep leg wounds from the iron shackles that keep them bound so they can be used in lavish parades and celebrations. While the people attending the festivities may wonder at the beauty of these brightly decorated animals, the elephants themselves are often in pain. 

Sangita wants to help relieve the suffering of by improving the living conditions of elephants throughout India. This dramatic presentation can be the catalyst in raising awareness among the public to demand that elephants receive better treatment. As you might expect, such an undertaking is not cheap. Even with experts donating their time, tens of thousands of dollars are needed to finish the pos-production phase and get the moving into public release.

One means of doing that is through the Gods in Shackles campaign on Indiegogo. As a contributor at any level, you have the opportunity to support this important project and garner a valuable thank-you gift for yourself. One piece in particular is very special. That is an actual chain link from a previously shackled elephant, now released. It’s yours at the $75 contribution level. Many other desirable premiums are also available starting as little as $5.

Won’t you help? Just to give you an idea of what you’ll see in the movie, here is a 5 minute preview:

Buy or Bid on Mango Wood Elephant to Benefit FAE

Mango Wood Elephant #2 available for purchase or bid on eBay.Here’s your opportunity to own a large hand-carved mango wood elephant crafted in Thailand. There’s actually an entire herd of these gorgeous elephant figures, but they are finding homes fast and will only be available to adopt for a short time. The elephant shown in this photo is called #2. She weighs 3 lbs and is 9 inches tall. The beautiful mango wood gets darker as finish is applied. Right now, #2 has only a light application of clear oil.

You can bid on this wonderful carved elephant right now. Don’t dawdle… the first bid has already been received. This eBay auction ends next Monday (Feb 2) at about 4 PM. After that you’ll likely be out of luck.

Not only will you be acquiring a unique work of hand crafted art, but you’ll also be helping to support a real elephant hospital in Thailand. Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital treats sick and injured elephants at no cost to their owners and depends on donations from caring people worldwide. Jody Stickney is donating 100% of this sale to FAE, so your money will go far… and you’ll have a valuable elephant too!

You can visit the eBay auction for elephant #2 and see pictures of the other available eles right now. Hurry, she could find a new home at any moment.

Note: 2/5 update. I’m happy to say that I’m the proud winner of the auction for elephant #2 (shown above) She should arrive in the next few days. Don’t worry if you’ve missed out on any of the auctions to date. There are more eBay auctions in progress right now to benefit FAE