Toronto Elephants on the move!

Two of the elephants at the Toronto Zoo

Toka, Thika and Iringa, the 3 female African elephants that live at the Toronto Zoo, will soon be living in a new home! The Toronto City Council voted 31 to 4 in favour of sending the elephants to an elephant sanctuary in California.

This is great news for these three elephants. They will be living in a warmer place, rather than having to live in a cold climate with freezing temperatures and snow. They will have other elephants to socialize with. And they will have so much more space and freedom. 

A Photo from PAWS' website of Mara roaming in the sanctuary

The Sanctuary that the Toronto elephants will go to is run by PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society). PAWS rescues captive wild animals that are neglected or abused, or in need of a new home. They work to stop exotic animals being kept as pets, and to stop wild animals from being used as entertainment.

The elephants at the PAWS sanctuary have hundreds of acres to roam across. There are hills and trees and grassland. There are also lakes for the elephants to bathe in. To learn more about PAWS and the other animals that they have rescued, check out their website at: http://www.pawsweb.org/  It will be exciting to visit their website next year, and to see Toka, Thika, and Iringa at the PAWS Sanctuary!


A photo from PAWS' website of two elephants visiting the lake in the Sanctuary

Bone Clones

There are lots of ways to learn more about wild animals without actually seeing them in the wild or in captivity. A great way to discover more is by investigating the skeleton of an animal. In our Keep It Wild workshops all the skulls and bones we use are from Bone Clones (http://www.boneclones.com/).


Bone Clones provides museum-quality skull- and skeleton- replicas that are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. No real bone material is used in their replicas, so no animals died in the process.

Kids are always excited about the chance to examine a skull, study and count the teeth, peer into the brain cavity, run a finger along the sagittal crest, poke a finger into an eye orbit, and marvel at the sinus cavity. And of course, with a polar bear skull, they all imagine being bitten by those enormous canine teeth!

A Student's Letter

Here's a letter from a student who particpated in A Keep It Wild Workshop about Marine Debris:

     Thank you for teaching me about animals and the sea animals and plastic. I like the game with the marbles. I didn't know the animals got tied up. If we keep on dumping things on the lake and ocean, the albatross baby will die. I will try to not use too much plastic bottles. And I will not dump in the lakes and ocean.
     I like the part when we used the water and tested if the things float or not.  I saw a lot of pictures of Albatross babies that died from plastic. I feel sad. I learned a lot. I will tell people what I learned from you.
    From, Joshua.

If your class participated in a Keep It Wild workshop, send us a letter too. We'd love to hear what you liked and what you learned. And we'd love to know that you are going to tell other people how to help animals, just like Joshua did.

A Trio of Books

Rob Laidlaw, the founder and director of Zoocheck Canada, is just about to publish his third children's book, No Shelter Here. All three of his books are geared towards children aged 9-12. His first book, Wild Animals in Captivity, was published in 2008 and was nominated for the Ontario Library Association Silver Birch award. This book reveals what life is like for wild animals living in zoos, and provides ways for young people to make a difference and help wild animals in captivity.  

His second book, On Parade: The Hidden World of Animals in Entertainment, provides a behind-the-scenes look at animals in circuses, movies, rodeos, marine parks, and more. Again, there are suggestions for helping wild animals.

The third book in this series moves away from wild animal issues to focus on dogs. Readers will discover what life is like for homeless, exploited and mistreated dogs, but also learn more about people and groups around the world who are working to help dogs.

  

 Each of these books have photos, informational sidebars, inspiring stories, and suggestions for young people interested in taking action and helping animals. All three books are great resources for kids who want to learn more about animal issues, and want to help create change for animals, both wild and domestic.

Dreams of the Animals

Dreams of the Animals
Margaret Atwood

Mostly the animals dream
of other animals each
according to its kind

(though certain mice and small

rodents
have nightmares of a huge pink

shape with five claws

descending)

: moles dream of darkness and delicate
mole smells

frogs dream of green and golden
frogs
sparkling like wet suns
among the lilies

red and black
striped fish, their eyes open
have red and black striped
dreams defense, attack, meaningful
patterns

birds dream of territories
enclosed by singing.

Sometimes the animals dream of evil
in the form of soap and metal
but mostly the animals dream
of other animals.

There are exceptions:

the silver fox in the roadside zoo
dreams of digging out
and of baby foxes, their necks bitten

the caged armadillo
near the train
station, which runs
all day in figure eights
its piglet feet pattering,
no longer dreams
but is insane when waking;

the iguana
in the petshop window on St.

Catherine Street
crested, royal-eyed, ruling
its kingdom of water-dish and

sawdust

dreams of sawdust

An Elephant Singing Opera?

Check out Theatre Direct's upcoming opera for youth, Sanctuary Song. This opera, conceived by playwright Marjorie Chan, with music composed by Abigail Richardson, is based on the remarkable true story of an elephant named Shirley, and her journey from the wild to the circus, the zoo, and finally to freedom in the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. What a unique way for young people to explore the issue of animals in captivity and the meaning of freedom!

Sanctuary Song premiered at the 2008 Luminato Festival and was the winner of a 2009 Outstanding Opera Dora Award. It will be back for a week's worth of performances in February 2012. Teachers can book their class for a daylong program which includes a performance of Sanctuary Song and a workshop that explores the artistic and performance elements used in the play.

You can learn more about Sanctuary Song, (and book your class for a workshop)  at Theatre Direct's website.You can also learn more about Shirley, the real elephant who inspired the story by watching this video.

Wildlife - Keep It Wild!



This is a picture of two polar bears in a zoo in Indonesia. Take a moment and consider what it must be like for them. These are animals that are adapted for living in frigid, frozen places. Their fur and blubber are meant to protect them from sub-zero weather.

Polar bears don't belong in tropical places and elephants don't belong in the snow. Take a moment next time you see an animal in captivity to consider what its natural habitat and climate should be. If you don't think the animal belongs, consider how you can help. Write a letter, tell your friends, create a blog, start a petition! Take action to keep wild animals wild.

!