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At Large Winner: Hohenwald, TN

The Elephant Sanctuary, founded in 1995, is the nation's largest natural-habitat shelter for female elephants. They cater to the needs of endangered elephants from Asia and Africa that may be aging or sick after retiring from circuses and zoos. The sanctuary covers 2,700 acres and is broken into three different environments to provide a safe, liberated and universal environment for the elephants to live in. To see the elephants in action, click here for the Sanctuary's "ele-cam."

Winning Regional Essay

"The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee provides a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in three natural habitat settings totaling 2,700 acres, and provides education about the crisis facing these social, sensitive, playful, complex, exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures."

"Many facts and articles about our activities can be found on our website, but the real miracles are found in the stories and photos of our elephant residents."

"Thousands of supporters have been drawn to the Sanctuary by the story of Shirley and Jenny. Jenny and Shirley were two elephants both at the same circus when Jenny was a calf and Shirley was in her 20s. They lived one winter together and then were separated for over 22 years. Jenny was already a very happy Sanctuary resident, when one day her life changed miraculously with the arrival of an old friend."

Carol Buckley describes their reunion: "Jenny came into the barn for the first time since Shirley's arrival at around 7:00 p.m. There was an immediate urgency in Jenny's behavior. She wanted to get close to Shirley who was divided by two stalls. Once Shirley was allowed into the adjacent stall, the interaction between her and Jenny became quite intense. Jenny wanted to get into the stall with Shirley desperately. She became agitated, banging on the gate and trying to climb through and over. After several minutes of touching and exploring each other, Shirley started to ROAR (and I mean ROAR) -- Jenny joined in immediately. The interaction was dramatic, to say the least, with both elephants trying to climb in with each other and frantically touching each other through the bars. I have never experienced anything even close to this depth of emotion."

"Shirley and Jenny spent every day together for the next eight years, until Jenny's passing in October 2006."

"The Sanctuary is closed to the public, allowing the rescued elephants to heal and exercise freedom of choice about everything they do. The live streaming video via the ele-cam opens an unobtrusive window into the lives of these elephants, allows students, teachers and the public to observe how healthy elephants act in a wild setting and provides an opportunity to teach viewers important lessons on humane treatment and respect for all life."

"A group of students from an elementary school in a rural community in Arizona were visibly moved while participating in a video conference with Executive Director Carol Buckley. They expressed their anger about current laws which seemingly allow the abuse of elephants. Their teacher, noting the passion of the students, responded "Well, now you know what to do with your life. There's your mission."

If They Won the $100,000 National Award ...

"The mission of The Elephant Sanctuary of Tennessee is to provide a haven for old, sick or needy elephants, and to educate the public on the plight of these magnificent endangered animals. Every new elephant arrival is a joyous fulfillment of that mission and a dream come true for the elephants, Sanctuary staff and over 67,000 Sanctuary supporters. "

"In 2006, an enormous effort by thousands of people came to fruition. Eight former circus elephants were relocated to our Sanctuary after their owner was found guilty of 19 counts of animal abuse (violations of the Animal Welfare Act). For over two years, these elephants were chained in a windowless barn awaiting their relocation. On January 30, 2006, when the first two of the rescued elephants, Minnie and Lottie, voluntarily walked into the Sanctuary's custom-built, chain-free transport trailer, the dream became a reality. Ten days later, the Sanctuary had completed the safe transport of all eight new residents, which nearly doubled our elephant population!"

"What did our supporters do when this monumental dream came true? They recognized the need to continue their support! And, we continue to do what we have always done at the Sanctuary -- help these elephants heal in every way possible. Such recovery requires lots of time, space, and the company of compatible others, not only for these former circus elephants, now lovingly renamed the Divas, but for all our elephant residents including our most recent arrival, Dulary, a 43 year old Asian elephant retired from the Philadelphia Zoo."

"Should The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee win the $100,000, the funds would be used for the direct daily care of our 19 elephants. And that means tons of everything. With the arrival of the Divas in 2006, we doubled our produce, hay and nutritional supplement needs. In addition, the Divas got their own barn, increasing the Sanctuary facilities to four barns staffed around the clock."

"The social lives of elephants are quite complex. When the Divas arrived they formed two groups dubbed the Fabulous Five and the Threesome. The split into two separate groups was not a disintegration of relationships of the past but the forging of new relationships which is something these elephants had never before had the opportunity to experience. Although some of the Divas had been together as circus performers for four decades, they were never before free to forge the deep relationships typical of their species. By splitting into groups and joining others they are comfortable sharing time with, their recovery is hastened. Liz, Frieda and Billie stay closer to home which provides them the desired security that their life as a performer did not provide. The other five explore the great expanses of the Sanctuary, free to make choices and live as their wild nature directs them."

"Dulary has been with us for one month. Her move was seamless but the change is a big one for an elephant that spent almost her entire life in the small zoo yard. One of the ways we assist Dulary in her transition is to provide her with her favorite foods; sugar cane and banana leaves."

"Delhi is 62 this year, our oldest resident and the first elephant ever to be confiscated by the United States Department of Agriculture. She performed in the circus for more than 50 years before being released to the Sanctuary. In 2003, Delhi arrived at the Sanctuary crippled, her life expectancy questionable and was classified by her veterinarian to be under hospice care. Two years later, in 2005, her caregivers noted on their daily log:"

"Delhi showed us that even a 60-year-old elephant can scale a fence. She gingerly lifted each of her limber legs, slowly and carefully, over the temporary cable which had been erected to contain her for quarantine, she slowly but effectively managed to climb over the fence to munch on the tasty grass growing on the other side. These past two years have taught us what an incredible recovery an infirmed elephant can make."

"Our management philosophy requires that our elephant caregivers allow the elephants to make all the choices regarding every aspect of their lives. We deliver food, water and medical treatments on all terrain vehicles, our lifeline to the elephants in the 2,700 acre, multi-facility habitat. We purchase two new all terrain vehicles annually, along with replacement tires and repair parts. Innovation is the key to the continuing development and success of the Sanctuary. We use custom made water-wagons to provide water to the elephants anywhere in their habitat. Once the elephant's favorite areas are identified, wells are drilled and water troughs installed, powered by the sun and maintained by Sanctuary staff. All of this is done in an effort to create an environment in which the elephants make the choices, and in doing so, recover and reclaim their lives."

"The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee manages elephants in a non-dominance natural habitat setting. This natural habitat setting contributes to the physical and mental health of the elephants. We know that the methods used here and the successful recovery of the elephant residents of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee can be used to help captive elephants still suffering in zoos and circuses. The positive results we have seen over the past twelve years speak volumes. We have experienced everything from solitary animals integrating into herd life, to formerly aggressive elephants becoming extremely passive, to chronic health issues ending with very dramatic positive results in a short period of time."

"What will we do with $100,000? We will do everything we can to help these elephants heal from their physical and mental traumas, and to illuminate the reality of the lives of captive elephants worldwide. Please visit our website at www.elephants.com and find out more about our current residents as well as news about captive elephants worldwide."

Mission Statement

To provide a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of green pastures, old-growth forests, spring-fed ponds and a heated barn for cold winter nights.

To provide education about the crisis facing these social, sensitive, passionately intense, playful, complex, exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures.