Comments on: Where’s That Elephant Odyssey Ambassador Now? http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/05/04/where%e2%80%99s-that-elephant-odyssey-ambassador-now/ Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:34:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Mark http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/05/04/where%e2%80%99s-that-elephant-odyssey-ambassador-now/comment-page-1/#comment-445697 Mark Sat, 09 May 2009 04:01:40 +0000 http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/?p=4278#comment-445697 Speaking of elephant migrations, has anyone else here heard of the Mfune Lodge in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia? Long story short, this hotel was accidentally built on an elephant migration route. Fortunately, the lobby includes pretty much an open-air space between buildings in the complex joined at the roof. In November, migrating elephants just go right though to reach their favorite mango grove. ;) You can see pictures of this in the photo gallery at the Mfune Lodge website. Speaking of elephant migrations, has anyone else here heard of the Mfune Lodge in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia? Long story short, this hotel was accidentally built on an elephant migration route. Fortunately, the lobby includes pretty much an open-air space between buildings in the complex joined at the roof. In November, migrating elephants just go right though to reach their favorite mango grove. ;) You can see pictures of this in the photo gallery at the Mfune Lodge website.

]]> By: nancy from michigan http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/05/04/where%e2%80%99s-that-elephant-odyssey-ambassador-now/comment-page-1/#comment-445144 nancy from michigan Wed, 06 May 2009 20:02:10 +0000 http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/?p=4278#comment-445144 I've been following all your blogs Rick and they are most interesting to say the least! you have been great about keeping us up-dated. you have been so busy and are all over the place lately. I don't know how you do it! keep up the good work.............never a dull minute with your job! never everyone blogs, but, I assure you that everyone reads your blogs and is very interested. I’ve been following all your blogs Rick and they are most interesting to say the least! you have been great about keeping us up-dated. you have been so busy and are all over the place lately. I don’t know how you do it! keep up the good work………….never a dull minute with your job! never everyone blogs, but, I assure you that everyone reads your blogs and is very interested.

]]> By: Chari Mercier http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/05/04/where%e2%80%99s-that-elephant-odyssey-ambassador-now/comment-page-1/#comment-445052 Chari Mercier Wed, 06 May 2009 02:41:06 +0000 http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/?p=4278#comment-445052 Hi, Fred! Thanks for answering me so quick! I'm glad that you were able to see the Animal Kingdom program. I am really hoping that everyone connected with this project will be able to help the governments of Botswana and Angola to understand that these elephants need their migration routes in order to survive and keep their legacies alive. Wildlife sanctuaries in both African countries also need to understand this as well. Hopefully, Rick can be a great messenger about this and about other elephant conservation matters while he's there. Looking forward to your updates on your elephant projects from both you and Rick! Chari Mercier :) St. Pete, FL Hi, Fred! Thanks for answering me so quick! I’m glad that you were able to see the Animal Kingdom program. I am really hoping that everyone connected with this project will be able to help the governments of Botswana and Angola to understand that these elephants need their migration routes in order to survive and keep their legacies alive. Wildlife sanctuaries in both African countries also need to understand this as well. Hopefully, Rick can be a great messenger about this and about other elephant conservation matters while he’s there.
Looking forward to your updates on your elephant projects from both you and Rick!
Chari Mercier :)
St. Pete, FL

]]> By: Fred http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/05/04/where%e2%80%99s-that-elephant-odyssey-ambassador-now/comment-page-1/#comment-445026 Fred Tue, 05 May 2009 18:07:39 +0000 http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/?p=4278#comment-445026 Hi Chari, Pretty amazing TV show, huh? Turns out that the televison show was about "Elephants Without Borders," and we've established a partnership with them to work on elephant conservation [see my blog "Elephant Search: Finding a Needle in a Haystack", Oct. 8, 2008: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/elephant-search-finding-a-needle-in-a-haystack/]. Dr. Michael Chase was the scientist in the <em>Animal Kingdom </em>show, and he is now the Henderson Endowed Conservation Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the San Diego Zoo. So, I'll be coordinating research and conservation activities with Dr. Chase, and I can assure you that we will be posting blogs about our work. Thank you so much for your interest in elephants and conservation, Fred Bercovitch Hi Chari,
Pretty amazing TV show, huh? Turns out that the televison show was about “Elephants Without Borders,” and we’ve established a partnership with them to work on elephant conservation [see my blog “Elephant Search: Finding a Needle in a Haystack”, Oct. 8, 2008: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/elephant-search-finding-a-needle-in-a-haystack/. Dr. Michael Chase was the scientist in the Animal Kingdom show, and he is now the Henderson Endowed Conservation Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the San Diego Zoo. So, I’ll be coordinating research and conservation activities with Dr. Chase, and I can assure you that we will be posting blogs about our work.

Thank you so much for your interest in elephants and conservation,
Fred Bercovitch

]]> By: Chari Mercier http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/05/04/where%e2%80%99s-that-elephant-odyssey-ambassador-now/comment-page-1/#comment-444920 Chari Mercier Tue, 05 May 2009 05:07:28 +0000 http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/?p=4278#comment-444920 Hi, Rick! Just read your article about your trip to Botswana, Africa, to monitor and track elephants in that country. I just watched a program on Animal Planet called "Wild Kingdom", and it was about Botswana's elephants and their ancestral migration routes that have been compromised by fences and other barriers. The migration routes go right into Angola, and there have been problems in getting the wildlife authorities to understand that these elephants need their migration routes opened so that they can get to other areas that only the elephants know about thru their memories of these paths. It was very interesting to watch! Wish that you could have watched that program before you left for Botswana because that would have given you some good ideas of what these elephants are going thru there. Have a great time over there, and we will all be waiting for your next update about what you and your buddies have been doing in Botswana. Got some news about Asali, the pregnant African elephant at Memphis Zoo. They have put up a new video dated April 28, 2009, on the blog page about the vets giving Asali another ultrasound to monitor the baby elephant she's carrying. They have seen the heart beating, looked at the spinal area and bone structure, and watched the movements of the baby elephant thru the ultrasound. They report that everything is going well and on schedule for Asali's birth date in July. Just two more months before the big day for Asali! Well, gonna go and get to bed! Wrote this in the wee hours of Tuesday morning! Chari Mercier :) St. Pete, FL Hi, Rick! Just read your article about your trip to Botswana, Africa, to monitor and track elephants in that country. I just watched a program on Animal Planet called “Wild Kingdom”, and it was about Botswana’s elephants and their ancestral migration routes that have been compromised by fences and other barriers. The migration routes go right into Angola, and there have been problems in getting the wildlife authorities to understand that these elephants need their migration routes opened so that they can get to other areas that only the elephants know about thru their memories of these paths. It was very interesting to watch! Wish that you could have watched that program before you left for Botswana because that would have given you some good ideas of what these elephants are going thru there.
Have a great time over there, and we will all be waiting for your next update about what you and your buddies have been doing in Botswana.
Got some news about Asali, the pregnant African elephant at Memphis Zoo. They have put up a new video dated April 28, 2009, on the blog page about the vets giving Asali another ultrasound to monitor the baby elephant she’s carrying. They have seen the heart beating, looked at the spinal area and bone structure, and watched the movements of the baby elephant thru the ultrasound. They report that everything is going well and on schedule for Asali’s birth date in July. Just two more months before the big day for Asali!
Well, gonna go and get to bed! Wrote this in the wee hours of Tuesday morning!
Chari Mercier :)
St. Pete, FL

]]>