As a Celebrant I've served young and old, living and dead, humans and pets - but never before have I celebrated a family of pachyderms!
Portland loves the elephants who for more than 50 years have thrived at the Oregon Zoo. This month their new habitat opened, four times the size of their previous space and setting a new standard for elephant health and well-being.
I was asked to help create a dedication for the grand opening, one that honored each member of this beloved family, that showcased their individual attributes along with the features of their new world-class home.
I know the question of housing any animals in a zoo is unsettling to some, and these Asian elephants are certainly far from their native lands. But the Oregon Zoo has done a remarkable job in support of this endangered species. Some of their research discoveries have even been applied in Asia to reduce human-elephant conflict.
Portland loves the elephants who for more than 50 years have thrived at the Oregon Zoo. This month their new habitat opened, four times the size of their previous space and setting a new standard for elephant health and well-being.
I was asked to help create a dedication for the grand opening, one that honored each member of this beloved family, that showcased their individual attributes along with the features of their new world-class home.
I know the question of housing any animals in a zoo is unsettling to some, and these Asian elephants are certainly far from their native lands. But the Oregon Zoo has done a remarkable job in support of this endangered species. Some of their research discoveries have even been applied in Asia to reduce human-elephant conflict.
East African mother mourns her baby (c) BBC The three-generation-strong family of elephants at the Oregon Zoo proves the adage that home is where the herd is. The seven (five of whom were born in Portland) are inter-related and inter-dependent. How this matriarchal society lives can teach us more than a thing or two.
The entire herd shares in the care and tutelage of their young. Chendra, rescued in Malaysia orphaned and hungry with a gun shot wound to her left eye, earned her full place in the herd when she became doting auntie to baby Lily.
Elephants join dolphins, apes, and humans as the only animals known to recognize their reflections in a mirror. According to Scientific American, elephants can recognize and keep track of the location of as many as 30 companions at a time. The researcher says, "Imagine taking your family to a crowded department store and the Christmas sales are on. What a job to keep track of where four or five family members are. These elephants are doing it with 30 traveling-mates."
There are numerous accounts of elephants grieving: shedding tears, standing vigil over their dead for as long as three days, traveling long distances to visit the bones or dying grounds, moving the bones, perhaps even trying to bury' them.
The entire herd shares in the care and tutelage of their young. Chendra, rescued in Malaysia orphaned and hungry with a gun shot wound to her left eye, earned her full place in the herd when she became doting auntie to baby Lily.
Elephants join dolphins, apes, and humans as the only animals known to recognize their reflections in a mirror. According to Scientific American, elephants can recognize and keep track of the location of as many as 30 companions at a time. The researcher says, "Imagine taking your family to a crowded department store and the Christmas sales are on. What a job to keep track of where four or five family members are. These elephants are doing it with 30 traveling-mates."
There are numerous accounts of elephants grieving: shedding tears, standing vigil over their dead for as long as three days, traveling long distances to visit the bones or dying grounds, moving the bones, perhaps even trying to bury' them.
Shine welcomes Tusko back to the herd We don't yet know how grief is affecting the Oregon Zoo elephant family, but it followed immediately on the heels of the joyous habitat grand opening for the elephants' human family.
On December 22 the Zoo announced with great sadness the death of Tusko, at 44 one of the oldest and largest male Asian elephants in North America. A former circus elephant, he suffered from a decades-old leg injury and had been in poor health.
Six months earlier Tusko had been able to rejoin the herd after more than a year of medical treatment. The Zoo reported that the rest of the family greeted him with "a chorus of chirps, trumpets and thunderous roars". Apparently when Sung-Surin (known as Shine) first walked up to Tusko, "her roars sounded like something out of Jurassic World."
Tusko's return was particularly important to his male offspring Samudra, as Sam learns how to be an adolescent bull. Tusko made his mark on the new habitat, too. The builders counted on him to "Tusko-proof" many of the new features, knowing if they were suitable for this gentle giant, they would work for the rest of the herd.
The obituary released by the Oregon Zoo recognizes Tusko's legacy and the interdependence of his elephant and human families: "Tusko's energy, strength and spirit live on in the personalities of his two Oregon Zoo calves, Samudra and Lily, as well as in the new Elephant Lands habitat, the design of which he helped inspire."
The humans who worked with, cared for, observed, and learned from Tusko over his decade at the Oregon Zoo were deeply saddened by Tusko's physical decline and death. It's not hard to imagine that his deeply connected elephant family is now mourning his death too. Tusko, no doubt, will be remembered.
On December 22 the Zoo announced with great sadness the death of Tusko, at 44 one of the oldest and largest male Asian elephants in North America. A former circus elephant, he suffered from a decades-old leg injury and had been in poor health.
Six months earlier Tusko had been able to rejoin the herd after more than a year of medical treatment. The Zoo reported that the rest of the family greeted him with "a chorus of chirps, trumpets and thunderous roars". Apparently when Sung-Surin (known as Shine) first walked up to Tusko, "her roars sounded like something out of Jurassic World."
Tusko's return was particularly important to his male offspring Samudra, as Sam learns how to be an adolescent bull. Tusko made his mark on the new habitat, too. The builders counted on him to "Tusko-proof" many of the new features, knowing if they were suitable for this gentle giant, they would work for the rest of the herd.
The obituary released by the Oregon Zoo recognizes Tusko's legacy and the interdependence of his elephant and human families: "Tusko's energy, strength and spirit live on in the personalities of his two Oregon Zoo calves, Samudra and Lily, as well as in the new Elephant Lands habitat, the design of which he helped inspire."
The humans who worked with, cared for, observed, and learned from Tusko over his decade at the Oregon Zoo were deeply saddened by Tusko's physical decline and death. It's not hard to imagine that his deeply connected elephant family is now mourning his death too. Tusko, no doubt, will be remembered.
Elephant Lands Dedication
Home is truly where the herd is. As we welcome our herd into their new home, we begin with Rose-tu, who shares a name with the City of Portland, and is named after her mother and grandmother. To Rose-Tu, the devoted mother of our Sam and Lily, we dedicate our state-of-the-art barn, which has everything you and future mothers need to take care of your babies.
To our youngest, to underscore the investment our region’s voters have made to the future of the herd. To rambunctious young Lily, great-granddaughter of our first elephant Rosie, we dedicate our splash pool and water cannon. We know how much you’ll enjoy playing in the shooting stream of water and how much your family – and all of us – will enjoy watching you do what elephants love to do with water.
Lily is not the only young elephant who loves water play. Her big brother, Samudra, loves to swim. In fact, his name means Lord of the Ocean. To Sam, the very first third-generation elephant to be born in the United States, we dedicate the new 160,000-gallon pool, so you can swim to your heart’s content and expend some of that new adolescent energy.
This is for Tusko, the gentle papa of Lily and Sam. To you, Tusko, we dedicate Forest Hall, our new 43-foot tall indoor facility. Despite your gentle nature, you did your part to make this habitat great by “Tusko-proofing” its features during construction!
And now for Auntie Chendra, who was found in Borneo — orphaned, alone, and hungry. Chendra, to you we dedicate our natural habitat timed feeders; with your new family, in your home here at Elephant Lands, you will never be hungry again.
To the herd’s matriarch, Auntie Sung-Surin, we chose a fitting tribute for this daughter of Packy and Pet. Sung-Surin, to you we dedicate the outdoor shelters because your name in Thai means Sunshine and we know you prefer to stay dry.
This community loves elephants, in no small part thanks to Packy, the oldest male of his kind in the country, born 53 years ago right here at Oregon Zoo. His birth made international headlines, and ushered in a whole new era of elephant care and welfare. To Packy, our icon and your herd’s venerable patriarch, we dedicate the square footage of this new habitat -- four times the size of your previous home -- a space large enough for your family to stay together. For home is where the herd is.
~ dedication delivered by Metro Council members at Elephant Lands Grand Opening, December 15, 2015
Click image to watch a two-minute montage from baby Lily's first three years, including when she meets her dad Tusko for the first time, the herd's entrance into their new habitat, and good times with a pumpkin!
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