Oh yeah they do, I love popovers :)
http://blog.pittsburghzoo.org/2011/botswana-elephant-photos/
CBP Welcomes Three Rescued Elephants to Pittsburgh
(07/29/2011)
Three rescued female Botswana elephants completed their 8,500-mile journey from Africa to their new home at the Pittsburgh Zoo International Conservation Center July 15, and Customs and Border Protection was on hand to welcome their arrival.
According to the Pittsburgh Zoo, Thandi, Seeni and Sukiri were on the verge of destruction. Wildlife laws in Botswana require that animals involved in fatal accidents are to be put down. In 2010, an elephant handler succumbed to injuries he suffered while working with one of the elephants. The injury itself wasn’t deemed life threatening, but he was reportedly far from any medical attention.
The elephants’ only respite, according to the zoo officials, was for the three to be exported from Botswana.
The Pittsburgh Zoo immediately came to their rescue. Logistics and preparations were nearly as huge as the enormous beasts that would soon call Western Pennsylvania home.
Zoo officials needed to charter an airplane large enough to transport three adult elephants in individual protective crates, hire ground transportation, attain appropriate federal and state permits, and construct a new temporary quarantine station. And least of all, raise funds to pay for it all.
“Despite all the hurdles and challenges we would face, we knew we had to try,” said Dr. Barbara Baker, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.
Moving day came quickly.
The 6,000 pound pachyderms were transported by truck about 250 miles from Gaborone, Botswana to the Johannesburg airport in South Africa. There, they were secured in protective crates aboard a 747 cargo plane for their 20-hour, 8,250-mile flight to Pittsburgh.
But before they could take a single plodding step, zoo officials huddled with federal agencies, such as U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and CBP, to complete appropriate wildlife, agriculture and import permits.
“My main concern going into the meeting was that the Zoo knew all the requirements they had to meet for USDA, FWS and CBP purposes,” said Joseph Klaus, CBP Port Director for the Port of Pittsburgh.
“The only real hiccup was the unknown of what was actually coming, plant-wise, along with the elephants,” Klaus added, referring to potential weed seeds or plant and animal diseases.
As the 747 cargo plane gracefully descended from a brilliantly lit summer sky to the Pittsburgh International Airport, an army of zoo officials, crane operators, truck drivers and others stood by to quickly transfer the crated pachyderms to three truck trailers.
CBP was first aboard the airplane as it blocked. CBP Officers Diane Kish and John Danihel swiftly cleared the airplane crew and elephant handlers, and entered the elephants.
click for hi-res
Rescued Botswana elephants Thandi, Seeni and Sukiri will live out their lives at the Pittsburgh Zoo’s International Conservation Center in Somerset County, Pa.
Supervisory CBP Agriculture Specialist Alex Nicola, worked closely with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and ensured agriculture compliance.
“My primary concern, as it was with all who participated, was the welfare of the elephants. Beyond that, I was focused on the elimination of any possible plant and animal disease risk,” said Nicola, who, except for the occasional pet bird, hasn’t encountered much in the way of wildlife imports, and never an elephant let alone three.
Nicola and others ensured that the aircraft was completely swept, vacuumed and disinfected. Hay, bedding, animal food and animal waste were properly safeguarded for incineration. Finally, the cage bottoms were wrapped in plastic and re-inspected for plant materials before they were loaded onto trailers for the ride to Somerset County, Pa.
At no time were the elephants removed from their crates.
The entire process moved smoothly and efficiently. Klaus attributes that to the advance planning between zoo officials, federal authorities and ground transportation.
“The zoo was very happy with how it went and how quickly the elephants got on the road,” said Klaus, who coordinated the federal agency support during the arrival. “Since it is winter in Botswana, the Zoo was concerned about taking a long time and the elephants being in the cages in the heat.”
According to Kish, the Pittsburgh weather was picture perfect with cool temperatures that morning, a break from the incessant oppressive heat waves impacting the eastern U.S. this summer.
“[The cooler temperature] made a huge difference in the comfort of the elephants inside of the shipping containers, and we were all very grateful for that,” said Kish.
National Geographic Channel filmed the arrival for a special feature on the twice rescued elephants. Indeed, this is the second time they narrowly escaped being put down.
According to the Pittsburgh Zoo, Thandi, Seeni and Sukiri were orphans at the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The three were slated to be culled in a government authorized cull when a sympathetic couple rescued them and moved them to an elephant orphanage on a Botswana farm.
The couple later moved Thandi, Seeni and Sukiri to the Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Botswana after the trio outgrew their orphanage. The mammoth mammals were moved once more, to a camp in the Okavango Delta when the pachyderms reached sexual maturity. That is where the handler suffered his fatal injury.
The couple who adopted the three female elephants, along with the fiancé and family of the dead handler, petitioned for a stay of execution and Thandi, Seeni and Sukiri were exported to Pittsburgh.
The elephants will remain in quarantine for about 90 days at the International Conservation Center, a 724-acre wildlife refuge in Somerset County, Pa., where they will live out their lives and, zoo officials hope, raise a herd of their own.
The lucky loxodonta ladies twice escaped death and landed nicely on their padded feet. The trio will soon be small screen stars and four CBP officers can say they were there when Thandi, Seeni and Sukiri arrived.
“It was very interesting to witness the importation of the live elephants … and successful culmination of this historic elephant rescue,” said Kish.
To view additional pictures of the Botswana elephants arrival day, visit ( Pittsburgh Zoo Blog)
Junior http://www.catoftheday.com/
Mia http://catoftheday.com/archive/2011/July/30.html
Buck http://catoftheday.com/archive/2011/July/29.html
Rusty http://catoftheday.com/archive/2011/July/28.html
http://lovemeow.com/2011/07/little-furry-snow-white/#more-27751
http://lovemeow.com/2011/07/little-white-rescue-with-blue-and-hazel-eyes/
http://lovemeow.com/2011/07/kitty-makes-a-wish/
http://lovemeow.com/2011/07/tuxedo-mischief/
http://lovemeow.com/2011/05/best-furiends-forever/
