The Leaf-Chronicle
Nov. 19, 2006
By Stacy Smith
Segovia
Original Article
When
she was a young woman, Carol Buckley fell in love with a 700-pound
elephant. For the past 32 years, that love has guided her life.
Buckley's new book, "Just for Elephants" (Tilbury House,
$16.95) was released Nov. 15.
Ironically, the first 20 years of Buckley's relationship with her
elephant soulmate, Tarra, was spent traveling to circuses, stage
shows, television commercials and film sets. Tarra could roller
skate and play the harmonica, and had eager audiences everywhere
she went.
Today, Buckley is adamantly opposed to the exploitation of elephants
for humans' gain. In 1995, she and partner Scot Blais founded The
Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald as a refuge for old, sick and needy
elephants retired from zoos and circuses. The sanctuary now provides
2,700 acres of natural habitat environments for Asian and African
elephants.
Buckley's first book, "Travels with Tarra," was published
in 2002. "Just for Elephants" recounts the arrival at
The Elephant Sanctuary of an elderly, injured elephant named Shirley.
Shirley is wary of her new surroundings until she spots an elephant
named Jenny.
"Suddenly, Shirley realized that Jenny had been a baby elephant
in her circus many years ago," the book says. "The two
elephants trumpeted and cried big elephant tears of joy — they
were very happy to be together again after so many years."
In addition to providing a safe haven for elephants, The Elephant
Sanctuary aims to "provide education about the crisis facing
these social, sensitive, passionately intense, playful, complex,
exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures," the Web
site says.
Buckley is one of 10 nominees for Animal Planet Hero of the Year,
an award that will be announced later this month.
The nonprofit sanctuary Buckley founded is not open to the public
and relies heavily on donations to care for the elephants. Sales
of "Just for Elephants" and "Travels with Tarra" help
support that mission. The books are available in stores or may be
ordered on The Elephant Sanctuary Web site, www.elephants.com/estore.
Stacy Smith Segovia is a features writer for The Leaf-Chronicle.
She can be reached at 245-0237 or by e-mail at stacysegovia@theleafchronicle.com.
