EAI 2018 Annual Report

Message from The Founder and President

2018 was a year of incredible progress. Each day was filled with purpose as we worked to create our next generation sanctuary, Elephant Refuge North America (ERNA), in Attapulgus, Georgia.

We were humbled by the warmth of the welcome we received from our neighboring communities in Georgia and Florida. It’s truly wonderful to be surrounded by neighbors who understand and wholeheartedly support our mission and philosophy.

The mild winters of this South Georgia location were a major factor in our decision to locate here. As temperatures remained solidly in an elephant’s comfort zone day after day, we knew we’d made the right choice. Regardless what time of year our new residents arrive, they will be able to spend their days outside exploring the habitat and discovering their elephantness, some of them for perhaps the first time.

Elephants love water. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the rainy season here is similar to the monsoon season in Asia, an unexpected plus for the Asian elephants who will call ERNA home. We have an abundance of water features for them to enjoy; torrential downpours cause the ponds to crest their banks and send waves of fresh water through the spillways of the lakes. Elephant paradise.

We want to be good stewards of this beautiful land. In 2018 we consulted with experts in land use and habitat restoration and have adopted their recommended best practices.

With Mundi, the 35-year-old female African elephant living at the zoo in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, set to be our first retiree, construction raced at breakneck speed.

We watched ERNA literally materialize before our eyes, from the double fencing system that will give our future residents safety and freedom to our first quarantine barn full of features, large and small, to support elephant comfort and rehabilitation.

At the same time, we continued to build EAI as an organization with the establishment of a new Integrative Health Team. The team’s members, come from a wide range of modalities, countries and backgrounds. Their depth of knowledge and expertise will ensure that EAI and ERNA lead the way in innovative approaches to elephant care.

With so much accomplished and so much to look forward to, we never forget that these positive developments are possible because of the support you, our friends and donors, unfailingly give us. Whether you’ve contributed financially, offered in-kind assistance or helped us weather setbacks with words of comfort and encouragement, you are a part of everything we accomplish. Together we are building a new future for elephants.

Thank you,
Carol Buckley
Founder and CEO

Elephant Refuge North America (ERNA)

Elephant Refuge North America is well on its way to completion as we made considerable progress constructing the barn and fences. Thanks to a generous $100,000 grant from Nature Defense Foundation (NDF), construction of the barn began in March 2018. By year’s end the state-of-the-art barn was nearly completed.

In October 2018, Hurricane Michael damaged more than 5,000 feet of the specially designed double fence system that encompasses our 850-acre refuge. We quickly raised the funds for repairs and volunteers worked alongside construction professionals to remove the downed trees that caused the damage and return the fence to its original condition.

Hard-working supporters of all ages came to ERNA for Volunteer Days to help ready the property for the elephants who will soon call Georgia home. We also welcomed neighbors and supporters to explore our land by wheel and foot on our special Bike and Hike the Elephant Trails days.

Mundi’s Move

We spent a large portion of 2018 coordinating with the Puerto Rico government and working on logistics to retire Mundi, a 35-year-old African elephant, to ERNA. While the travel logistics and preparations for Mundi’s move from her current home at the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in Mayagüez were in progress, EAI and supporters worked tirelessly to prepare ERNA for her arrival.

A special thanks to PAWS (the Performing Animal Welfare Society) for donating the use of its transport crate, which reduces the cost of the move by $50,000.

Getting to Know Our Neighbors

The local community continues to embrace ERNA. Carol made presentations about elephants and ERNA to a number of civic and school groups, including the Bainbridge, Georgia, Lion’s Club; Quincy, Florida, Garden Club; and Kiwanis Club in Havana, Florida. In March, Carol also spoke about elephant values, physiology and culture at the Thomas County Public Library in Thomasville, Georgia.

In August, the Friends of Georgia Elephants held a Barn Warming Trunk Show to raise funds for completion of the elephant barn. The show offered special limited-edition items for purchase or bid, including beautiful Celadon elephant mugs handmade in the mountains of Northern Thailand, which were commissioned for and donated to EAI by Carolyn and Bob Braddock.

Free The Elephants Keynote

In April, Carol keynoted the Free the Elephants Conference and Film Festival in Portland, Oregon, speaking on “Revolution of a Movement — Creating Real Change for Elephants.” She also introduced a screening of “Unchained” and joined a panel on how local communities in Asia can help bridge cultural divides and heal human-elephant conflict.

Asia Outreach

EAI’s efforts to help captive-held elephants in Asia continue. At the invitation of Sri Lanka’s finance ministry, Carol visited Zoo Dahiwala and Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage to lay the groundwork for converting both facilities to chain-free and dominance-free management.

In Nepal, Carol and EAI have been invited to design chain-free corrals and train mahouts in non-dominance management at the Barahi Jungle Lodge. The facility will be the second privately owned lodge in the country to go chain-free.

Carol continued to teach foot care workshops, organized by the Nepal Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, the Elephant Owners Association in Nepal and the Elephant Conservation Center in Thailand. EAI also established an elephant foot care internship program for veterinarians and students in Nepal.

Additionally, EAI is a sponsor of Dr. Bablu Thakur’s year-long research project, “Foot Infections in Captive/Working Asian Elephants Engaged in Tourism & Wildlife Patrolling Duties in Nepal.” Dr. Thakur is a veterinary science scholar in the Department of Surgery and Pharmacology at the Agriculture and Forestry University in Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal.

UNCHAINED

“UNCHAINED,” the documentary about EAI’s work in Asia, continues to screen across the United States and throughout Asia. Carol appeared at several screenings to lead a discussion about improving the lives and welfare of working elephants.

Media

ERNA enjoyed considerable attention from media outlets in both the United States and abroad.

• Florida and Georgia ABC affiliates and the Tallahassee CBS affiliate ran stories on ERNA and its volunteer days.
• Home & Yard Magazine featured ERNA and Carol’s elephant welfare work.
• Tallahassee Democrat readers learned how Mundi will make the trip from Puerto Rico to ERNA. Students from the Savannah College of Art and Design interviewed Carol on the same topic for a documentary film.
• Puerto Rico’s newspaper Primera Hora gave significant coverage to Mundi’s move to ERNA, including sending a camera crew to visit ERNA and interview Carol.
• Clean Malaysia, an independent online news site, quoted Carol on the design flaws of the elephant exhibit at the Kemaman Zoo in Terengganu.
• The UK’s Daily Mirror reported on the efforts of activists in Sri Lanka to encourage the government to use Carol’s work with captive elephants in Nepal as a model.

Notable Donors

We would like to acknowledge several donors who have made significant contributions to EAI’s work this year.

• Our deepest gratitude goes to Sarah Shaw, founder of Nature Defense Foundation (NDF). NDF’s generous grants and matching gift were essential in helping us to near completion of the elephant barn.
• We are sincerely grateful for the continued support of Bob Barker and his DJ & T Foundation for completion of the ERNA elephant barn.
• Our sincerest appreciation goes to Leslie Schreiber for contributing to Elephant Refuge North America’s ability to accommodate interns and visiting professionals.
• We extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Lisa Kucukdogerli and Kathleen Cavanaugh, and our deepest gratitude for their generous bequests for general support.
• A huge thank-you goes to GreaterGood.org for their support of our Chain Free Means Pain Free Program and our efforts in creating Elephant Refuge North America.

2018 Donors

Summary of Financial Activity 2018

Breakdown of Expenses & Losses

*CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT EXPENSES FOR BARN AND FENCING CONSTRUCTION: $494,966.00

Download a PDF of the 2018 Annual Report.

2018 Report