# Meet Shirley. "My" namesake elephant. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286 "2004-05-21T02:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/1 "2004-05-21T02:08:45Z")
I’ve always had a soft spot for elephants. What’s not to love? Their big, floppy ears, long trunk, they can swim despite the fact they weigh more than a coiuple of cars combined. Their strength is amazing, their [memory](http://www.elephants.com/shirley/shirleypic3.htm) only moreso. They are social animals and are the only animals on the planet with four knees. They’ve endured their habitat shrinking. Being forced into elephant servitude for circuses with lousy care for the most part or crappy zoos who milk their monies out on the big draw that our pacydermed friends always bring yet rarely provide large enough facilities for a 10 ton animal to walk around in as in the wild they usually walk 30 miles a day. When ever I read about an elephant going berzerk and opening a can of whoop ass on a trainer, you know it is after years of abuse, mistreatment and lousy accomodations and I cheer for the elephant and then weep for them because something like that Never Bodes Well in the end for the animal. The Elephant Sanctuary This seems like a pretty cool place and a most excellent cause. Tool around the websight and read the bio’s of the elephants. If you are anywhere PMS, like me right now, you just may be turned into crying mess. I’ve heard about this place in the news and I think I want to stop by there on route back home from Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/2 "2004-05-21T02:15:58Z")
And then there was [this](http://www.freep.com/news/metro/zoo20_20040520.htm)most excellent news: > [@](#): > > The Detroit Zoo will become the nation’s first major animal facility to give away its elephants solely on ethical grounds. > > Winky and Wanda, the latest in an 81-year-old tradition of pachyderms at the zoo, will be sent to one of two U.S. refuges this summer or early fall. > > The decision to send them away comes amid a nationwide push to provide better care for elephants, widely considered to be among the Earth’s most intelligent creatures. They form strong social bonds and have a powerful need for physical and intellectual stimulation. > > In the wild, female Asian elephants like Winky and Wanda typically roam 30 miles a day, form lifelong and unique friendships with members of their herds and mourn for their dead. > > In captivity, they live in unnatural climates, develop physical problems such as chronic arthritis and exhibit psychological problems related to boredom and stress. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/3 "2004-05-21T02:34:21Z")
\Shirley\ - I don’t think the elephant sanctuary accepts drop-in visitors. You might want to check. I live in Tennessee and the sanctuary is a wonderful thing! StG ---
**Author:** ![Graycat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Graycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graycat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/4 "2004-05-21T02:34:49Z")
**Shirley** , when I click on your second link, I get a page saying that the domain is up for sale. I did get to the elephant sanctuary through clicking on “Home” at the bottom of the page in the memory link. I’ll have to check the place out next time I’m back in Tennessee. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/5 "2004-05-21T04:35:58Z")
Here’s the corrected [link.](http://www.elephants.com/) From their website: > [@](#): > > As a true sanctuary, The Elephant Sanctuary is not intended to provide entertainment. Patron-level donors are invited to tour the facility through our VIP Pledge Program, but **the Sanctuary is closed to the general public.** Education, however, represents a key component of the Sanctuary’s on-going mission. Since its inception, the Sanctuary’s outreach program has taught thousands of school children around the globe a respect for wildlife while learning about the endangered Asian elephant. Bolding mine. StG ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/6 "2004-05-21T12:31:19Z")
The cruelty that is dished on animals…particularly elephants…is precisely the reason I have never been to the circus. I’m glad someone is protecting these gorgeous creatures. I also have a hard time with zoos, but they’re infinitely better than watching an elephant be pranced around, yelled at, and forced to do unnatural things so we can “oooh” and “aaah” for a couple hours. A big “WaHOO!” for Shirley!!! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/7 "2004-05-21T12:49:00Z")
Yeah, I know they don’t let people stare at them. It’s a bit of a bummer. But a great cause, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-shirley-my-namesake-elephant/246286/8 "2004-05-21T12:53:10Z")
Moving this to MPSIMS.