oliphants

In January of 2006, Chris and I had the pleasure of visiting our friend Maia for a week in Anchorage, Alaska. One of the most amazing things, in a week filled with amazing things, was visiting with Maggie the Elephant in the humid, heated enclosure separating her from the arctic weather at the Alaska Zoo. Apparently Maggie is on her way to a location more suited to her climatic temperament.

Also I just finished reading a lovely novel, Water for Elephants, about a young man who drops out of veterinary school in the early 1930s and jumps a train, ending up in the midst of a traveling circus trying to keep it together during the Great Depression. And Richard, who is working with me here at the library again today, just gave me a piece of dark chocolate embossed with... an elephant. I guess things really do happen in threes.

Alaska: She'll Need a Plane With Leg Room

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: June 8, 2007

The Alaska Zoo board has decided to relocate the state’s only elephant to another state under certain conditions, the board president said Wednesday. Advocates want the elephant, Maggie, moved to a warmer location, preferably to a sanctuary where she can roam with other elephants. The board voted late Tuesday on the relocation, citing various conditions to be met, including enlisting independent veterinarians to ensure that Maggie is healthy enough to move. Possible sites must also be selected by zoo staff members and approved by the board. Air travel is the only form of transportation acceptable to the board for moving Maggie, who was put on a regimen that included having a $100,000 treadmill built.