Comments on: What Is an Elephant Odyssey Ambassador?

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:18:49 +0000

I’am dissapointed that you are leaving the lone african elephant at the zoo and not intergrating her into the herd at the park with her own species

Moderator’s note: Rick is writing a blog post about the Zoo’s African elephant, Tembo. Look for it later on today.

By: Suzy

Suzy — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:22:44 +0000

Hi Rick,

What a great job you have! I am so excited about EO. I have been waiting for this since 2005 and it is finally here. WOW! Keep up the great work and enjoy every precious minute of your awesome job.

Suzy

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:00:59 +0000

Hi,Rick! Why will you leave the lone african elephant at the new exhibit instead of moving her to the wild animal park to be with her own species?

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:57:21 +0000

Hi Ally!

I’m so glad to hear how excited you are – I am too! Our scheduled opening date for Elephant Odyssey is May 23. At this time we are planning on having at total of seven elephants at Elephant Odyssey. This will include the Asian elephant herd from the Wild Animal Park and the three elephants that live at the Zoo. Keep checking back; I’ll be posting more information every week here on the blog.

My Best,
-Rick

By: Ally

Ally — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:07:02 +0000

I’m SO excited for EO to open. It says 8 elephants will be in the exhibit. Which elephants, and where will they be coming from? I know Tembo, Devi, and Smitty will move over, but who else? Also, do we have a set opening date? Thanks so much! I’m SOOO excited!!

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:36:45 +0000

Thank you all for your comments and responses to my first blog post. The job is keeping me very busy, but as I say, “It’s a good kind of busy.” I have already had a few really fun experiences and will be posting as much as possible on the blog to keep you all updated. Along with keeping you all up to date with my adventures, I will do my best to respond to comments as time permits. Just keep in mind it might take me a few days…

My best,
Rick

By: barbara

barbara — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:11:49 +0000

I would like to thank the Public Relations for their response. I didn’t realize this was lungile’s baby, I am also glad that the staff has all recovered and every precaution is being taken to prevent this from happening again. So many stories about MRSA has been in the papers lately and it’s just a nasty germ that can hit with a vengence. Nobody is to blame and I believe it’s a good time to for all of us to educate ourselves about this deadly virus. I love to watch the elephants and thank all the staff and keepers for the care and attention they give these animals.

By: EJ

EJ — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:23:54 +0000

Know your work from the Zoo – and can’t wait to see and hear about your escorting the “previous version of the SoCal elephant” statues across the country.

By: Chari Mercier

Chari Mercier — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:33:35 +0000

Hi! Congrats to Rick on his new adventure as elephant odyssey ambassador! He’s will have a lot of fun with all of these elephants, and I’m also looking forward to alot of updates about what’s going on with the elephants. Have fun, Rick!
I also read the article about the MRSA outbreak at SDZ’s WAP on the MSNBC news website. It’s very unfortunate that Lungile’s calf caught this stubborn virus which probably compromised her already delicate health condition. I know that NONE of the zoo’s staff had any intention of spreading this disease to anyone or any animal, it’s just the nature of this virus that just hits with a vengeance and can be very resistant to some anitbiotics. I’m glad that everyone who had the MRSA has recovered, and that all of the staff are now taking extra precautions on their cleaning and sterile procedures to make sure that this virus doesn’t come back on them again. MRSA is a very tough little bug to deal with under any circumstances in any place and/or environment, and we all need to be very aware of how this disease operates and have preventive measures in mind at all times. Hopefully, Lungile will be able to get pregnant again soon and have a very healthy elephant calf!
Well, gonna go and do some things. Will write back later! Keep sending good updates about the elephants, ok? Especially Khosi, Punga, and Kamile—the 3 kids!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL

By: Betsy

Betsy — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:46:33 +0000

Rick well wishes to you and your new job duties, sounds like a fun and interesting job, as ambassador. I love all animals especially on the cameras, I want to know if we could see inside the African elephant house. I have always wanted to see how they all fit in there. Why are their no web cams on the Asian elephants? Good Luck!