Category Archives: Elephants

Animals, Elephants, Kindness, Nature

Elephants and A Very Special Day

Lomphat and Chanam and The Wildlife Alliance

Many of you know that I love elephants. I adore the way they swing their trunks and I am enamored by the fact that they do such a wonderful job of protecting their offspring. Did you know that when they walk from one place to another they put the more mature elephants in the front and back of the line and the youngsters in the middle? They do that to protect the young elephants. And, elephants have an amazing memory. They remember where to get water and their land routes, can recognize friends from years ago, and know every member of their heard. They even mourn their dead and can create melodies.

With all of that said, I would like to recognize The Wildlife Alliance in Cambodia ( https://www.wildlifealliance.org/from-rescue-to-recovery-baby-elephants-on-the-move/) for rescuing and caring for two young elephants in need of urgent care last year. The elephants, Lomphat and Chanam, are healing, doing well and have gained some weight.

I also wish to remind you of Endangered Species Day 2026 which takes place on May 15th. If you can, donate your time or money to an animal welfare organization.

Thank you again for being kind to animals. They need us more than ever!

Animals, Elephants, Kindness

Amazing – Elephants and Pajamas

The baby elephant wouldn’t stop trembling.
She had lost her mother to poachers — pacing in circles beside her body, too frightened to eat, too exhausted to sleep.

Dr. Roxy Danckwerts watched helplessly that night. Blankets, lullabies, soft words — nothing eased the calf’s shaking.
Then she remembered something small, almost silly: pajamas.

Years ago, she had sewn one for another orphan, and it worked — the soft fabric mimicking a mother’s touch.
So she did it again. Under lantern light, she stitched cotton covered in tiny moons and stars, each thread a quiet promise.

When she slipped the pajamas over the calf’s trembling body, the little one froze… then sighed.
And for the first time since losing her mother, she slept.

From that night on, every rescued calf received a handmade pair — blue, pink, patterned with elephants or stars.
When dressed, they stopped trembling, leaned into their caretakers, and found the courage to rest.
“They don’t just need medicine,” Roxy said. “They need comfort.”

The sanctuary’s sewing room became a place of healing.
Each pajama held a story — of loss, survival, and love stitched by human hands.
And as the orphans grew strong enough to return to the wild, their tiny pajamas hung on the nursery wall — reminders of how gentleness can save a life.

At sunset, Roxy still listens for the faint trumpets echoing through the trees — her “kids,” wild again, free again.
Because sometimes, healing begins not with medicine,
but with a thread, a touch,
and a heart willing to care.

Elephants, Orangutans, Tigers, Trees

A Great Way to Mitigate Climate Change

Sunrise_in_tropical_rainforest copyYou often hear that we need to reduce our carbon emissions from fossil fuels to fight climate change. While that is true, we have another way to reach our goals. It is easier and less expensive to save and regrow tropical trees. According to Nature Climate Change, tropical forest conservation and restoration could make up half of the global warming solution.

Cutting carbon emissions and pulling carbon out of the atmosphere (courtesy of rainforests) would significantly reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. According to Dr. Paul Salaman, “the potential of rainforest conservation to address global warming should be enough to galvanize massive worldwide rainforest conservation efforts.”

Dr. Salaman also said “rainforest conservation is also incredibly economical. One acre of Amazon rainforest in Peru, which stores up to 180 metric tonnes of CO2, can be protected for just a few dollars; the same is true elsewhere in Latin America and Africa…for the cost of …a coffee – each of us could save an area of forest about the size of four football pitches and safely store about 725 metric tonnes of CO2. To put this in perspective, the annual emissions of a typical passenger vehicle in the United States is less than 4.5 metric tonnes of CO2.”

Another reason to conserve the rainforests is for the animals. They provide homes for orangutans, elephants, tigers, and many other species. It is time to start saving and protecting our rainforests. They are the key to our future.

Elephants, Tigers

Wildlife, did you know…?

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“By destroying our planet in order to satisfy our greed for happiness we bequeath the future to the future generations a world damaged beyond repair with all the negative consequences that this will have for their lives. We must act therefore responsibly for our children and those who succeed us in this life.” Pope Francis

This quote makes me think about animals and illegal trade. Many people mistakenly purchase ivory statues or ivory necklaces for good luck or status. Other people buy medicines made from tiger parts. Sadly, at least one tiger per day is killed for use in traditional Chinese medicine. And the population of elephants in Tanzania is down by 60% because of illegal poaching. Those purchases come with devastating consequences, the death of 30,000 innocent elephants per year for their ivory and the death of innocent tigers for their body parts.

As I have mentioned before, animals are a precious part of our world. Without them we are impoverished. On a trip to Africa I once had the opportunity to watch a wild baby elephant happily play in muddy water and gleefully spray it all over herself. It was a sight that touched me to the core and one which I will never forget. Having said that, I have not seen wild tigers. Yet I am amazed by their beauty which clearly appears in this wonderful photo courtesy of tigersincrisis.com.

Illegal wildlife trade is one of the largest criminal activities in the world. It ranks in the top five of illegal business activities and is worth about $7.8 – 10 billion per year. Please demand strong enforcement, tougher penalties, prosecution, and better protection for animals. We can no longer afford to think only of ourselves. We must think about wildlife, and we must protect it.