We had just finished Elephant Aid Internationals 2019 Elephant Footcare Workshop in Sauraha Nepal. EAI founder Carol Buckley, Leslie Schreiber, Lena Quenard and I were enjoying MoMos, a popular Nepalese dish at a local eatery when Carol shared that Mina, one of a few female government mahouts asked if Carol would gift the elderly working elephant in her care, Sundar Mala a blanket to keep her warm. We are told by the government that Sundar Mala is in her mid 70’s.
Although winter day time temperatures can get up to 70F in southern Nepal, night time temperatures can be in the 40’sF. Underweight, elderly, or sick elephants with diseases such as Tuberculosis chained to one area without the ability to move their bodies freely – Enjoy the warmth of a blanket to keep them more comfortable.
The four of us took a moment to think about the quickest way to honor Mina’s request – In the next moment, I remembered an elephant blanket Free The Oregon Zoo Elephants, a non-profit in Portland Oregon U.S.A. tried to gift Chendra, a sick elephant imprisoned at the Oregon zoo. The Oregon zoo refused the blanket, denying the gift from FOZE – Being a core supporter of FOZE I knew the blanket was sitting in a members’ basement. Arrangements with Trish London, a veterinarian traveling to Sauraha from Atlanta Georgia were made. FOZE shipped the blanket to Trish in Georgia who generously offered to bring the blanket to Sauraha Nepal. The blanket arrived in Sauraha less than two weeks’ time!
Sundar Mala’s blanket was the talk of the village! Mahouts and their supervisors started requesting coats for numerous elephants. This action led to Elephant Aid International’s Winter EleCOATS campaign. The campaign was supported by Goat Coat Shop the organization who constructed the blankets. Enough money was raised to construct and ship 2 baby and 4 adult elephant blankets!
Photo Credit/Author – Annette Hadaway, Animal and Nature Connect