Elephant Sanctuary

The elephants at the Toronto Zoo will be moving to an elephant sanctuary soon. If you want to learn more about elephant sanctuaries, check out these children's books about The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Travels with Tarra
This book tells the tale of one captive elephant and her devoted human caretaker, who realizes that Tarra's needs as an elephant are more important than anything else in their life together.

Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends
After retiring from the circus, Tarra became the first resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. When other elephants moved in and developed close friendships, only Tarra remained independent - until the day she met a stray mixed-breed dog named Bella.

Just For Elephants
Shirley spent years as a circus elephant and then a zoo elephant. When she is finally moved to the Elephant Sanctuary, Shirley recognizes another elephant, Jenny, and greeted her with great excitment and joy.  Jenny had been a baby elephant at the circus where Shirley had worked so long ago. (Elephants do remember!)

All the books were written by Carol Buckley who is the co-founder and president of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. She arranged for the release of and provided care for 24 elephants at the Sanctuary over 15 years. Learn more about her, the books, and elephants at: http://www.carolbuckley.com/

Corky the Killer Whale

Here are some of the messages for Corky that a group of students recently wrote:

Get yourself into Corky’s headspace. The same food every day. Not being able to do all the things you should be allowed to do. Confined in a space that would make you claustrophobic. Away from family and the life you knew before you were captured. Tricks and training and loud crowds every day. Is this life? I think not. – Reiya

I’m mad because you are keeping Corky in captivity. I think instead of giving her frozen dead fish you should give her live fish so she can learn how to hunt.  – Abby

Corky is unhappy and deserves to be set free gradually.  – Rayne

I feel awful for Corky because I think she needs to be taught how to be a mother and her family can only teach her. And also she needs to be with her family to make her life happy. – Rinad

Corky the killer whale should be with her family. You should release her, let her be out in the wild. Let her be free.  – Taliya

I feel mad because you are keeping Corky in captivity!!!!!!I think you should give Corky a bigger pool and work your way up to setting her free! Please return Corky to the wild! Let Corky go! – Jessica

If you were Corky, would you want to be in a little cage all day? I think NOT!!! And get the same food every day? That’s what I feel. Bring her back to her habitat. You know it’s right. – Saskia

If you are too stubborn to let her go free, give her live fish and teach her to hunt. Don’t make her do tricks, add seaweed and rocks to her tank. Give her privacy. Build her a tank ten times as big. Don’t continue to torture her. LET CORKY GO FREE.  – Gwyneth

Did you know that there are less than 50 killer whales in captivity around the world? And did you know that Canada is one of only six countries that has a marine park with killer whales? Learn more about killer whales in captivity, including recent events in the news, facts and statistics at: http://www.orcahome.de/index.html

A Great Gorilla Book for Kids

A Stranger at Green Knowe was written by Lucy Boston and published fifty years ago. The main character is a young boy, Ping, a refuge who is staying at Green Knowe mansion in London. During a visit to the zoo, Ping meets a captive gorilla, Hanno,  and feels a strong connection to him. The early chapters of the book detail Hanno's life in the wild, and the trauma of his capture. The story then follows the events that happen after Hanno escapes from the zoo, and Ping discovers him living in a tangle of woods near Green Knowe.

Here's a quote from the second chapter, when Ping visits the zoo for the first time:

What had he in his innocence expected?...Certainly it had never occurred to him that an animal could be stripped of everything that went with it, of which its instincts were an inseparable part, and that you could have just its little body in a space of nothingness. as if looking at that told you anything but the nature of sorrow, which you knew anyway.

The book is a sensitive and detailed look at the life of a gorilla in the wild and in captivity.But it's also an exciting and suspenseful read, and will be enjoyed by children and adults alike, especially as a read-aloud.   A Stranger At Green Knowe was awarded the 1961 Carnegie Medal in Literature. Check out this book, and the others in the Green Knowe series, at your local libary.