TodaysTHV.Com
June 9, 2007

Original Article

A group negotiating a $3.6 million deal with an elephant sanctuary in Arkansas to turn the refuge into a National Elephant Center says talks have fallen apart and the group is looking elsewhere.

Mark Reed, board president for the National Elephant Center, says the board is looking at land in Texas, Florida, and a far-Western state. The group includes ten zoos, and also is in preliminary discussions involving property near Little Rock. The group wants a site of at least 100 acres with room to expand.

The center board was close to a deal with Scott and Heidi Riddle to turn their 330-acre Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Quitman into a national research, breeding and home for elephants.

The parties aren't saying why the proposed sale collapsed recently, citing a confidentiality agreement.