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Basic Information about Barbara
• born - 1966
• died - 5/18/2001
• birthplace - Sri Lanka
• birth status - wild born
• captured from the wild - 1967
• life before the Sanctuary - privately owned, performed in circuses
• reason for coming to the Sanctuary - wasting disease
• moved to The Elephant Sanctuary April 25, 1996
EleDiary - Tidbits of Information about the on-going progress of all the Girls
Barbara
was a female Asian elephant who was born
in 1966 in the wilds of Southeast Asia. In 1968 when Barbara was
2 years old, she was captured by elephant trainers known as mahouts.
Assisted by their trained elephants, the mahouts singled out Barbara,
chosen for her age, conformation, and disposition. The mahouts,
riding atop their trained elephants, captured Barbara by walking
into the herd and dropping ropes around her neck and legs. With
a trained elephant on either side, Barbara was dragged from her
jungle home. She was taken to an elephant "work camp" where
elephants are trained to move trees for the logging industry.
During the first few weeks at the logging camp, Barbara was tied to a tree, her movement severely limited. She was completely dependent on the mahouts for food, water and medical treatment. The mahouts spent hours encouraging her to accept them as her new family. Once Barbara learned to tolerate life in captivity, she was loaded into a wooden crate and sent by ship to America. Barbara arrived in Florida along with seven other elephants who would be her family for the next 24 years.
Barbara and the seven other elephants were purchased as performing elephants for the circus, but first they needed to be trained. For several months the elephants were taught a variety of tricks, including standing on their hind legs, lying down, and holding one another's tails. Learning the tricks was not difficult, but it was stressful and unnatural. For the next 12 years Barbara and her new family performed in traveling circuses throughout the United States.
Barbara was the youngest of her herd, and by 14 was of breeding age. Other members of her family were already pregnant when the herd was retired to a breeding facility in Florida. Sometime during this transition from performing to breeding, Barbara began to lose weight. Tests were done; all came up negative. No answer could be found for Barbara's low weight. Over the next 12 years Barbara struggled with this weight-loss condition. Several baby elephants were born during this time, but none to Barbara.
In November 1995, Barbara and her family were once again moved. The owner of the new breeding facility refused to allow Barbara to accompany the other elephants. Due to her emaciated appearance, Barbara was separated from her family and forced to live in solitary confinement, where she quickly became severely depressed.
On April 25, 1996, 2,000 pounds underweight, Barbara was permanently relocated to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. She became the second resident of the nation's only natural-habitat refuge for Asian elephants. CNN and local news stations were on hand to record Barbara's first step onto Sanctuary grounds. Barbara and Tarra, (the Sanctuary's first resident) became immediate friends and can be seen grazing the pastures and bathing, side by side, in the spring-fed stream.
Read an article from CNN detailing this move to the Sanctuary.
Sharon Callahan talks about Barbara in a book by Susan McElroy entitled Animals as Guides to the Soul, published by Balentine.
For an update on Barbara's recent surgery to remove overgrown teeth, Click Here.
Barbara has a special friend, The Tree of Life, which has generously donated a six-month supply of flaxseed oil to help keep her healthy. This is the latest step to address her chronic underweight condition. Flaxseed oil contains essential fatty acids that are required by the body to regenerate new healthy tissue and maintain good health. The body is able to utilize the sun's healing energy to promote and sustain healing only if fatty acids are available. Some of the symptoms experienced without fatty acids include dry skin and skin problems, drying out of mucus membranes, digestive problems, and predisposition to infections and parasites. So we are very grateful to Tree of Life and wish to thank them for this most generous contribution.
There are other special friends in Barbara's cheering section — Barbara needed an extra layer to keep warm in the cold Tennessee months, so Patagonia stepped in and donated over 60 yards of fleece and waterproof materials to make her a sweater. Janet Wilson of Nashville Draperies kindly donated her services to design and create this one-of-a-kind garmet. Not only will Barbara keep warm this winter — she will also be walking the Sanctuary acres in style.
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