FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Suzanne Carr 229-465-3115
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Elephant Refuge North America Celebrates Bo’s 38th Birthday
ATTAPULGUS, GA, January 20, 2025: In southernmost Georgia, a magnificent 12,000-pound elephant submerges below the surface of a quiet lake. Bo, a 38-year-old Asian elephant, splashes and snorkels, a mix of play and relaxation that encompasses this 10'6" tall gentle giant’s joyful personality.
Bo was born in captivity on January 22. For him, every day of freedom the Refuge provides is a precious gift. For over three years now, Bo has enjoyed retirement immersed in an 850-acre habitat of woods and pasture. Here, he embraces a world as close to his natural habitat as possible for an elephant living in captivity.
Sunny days are spent with his animal companions—elephants Tarra and Mundi, and dogs Mala and Samie. Bo grazes in wide-open pastures, rolls in mud wallows, bathes in lakes or ponds, and then searches for fresh, delicious bamboo (one of his favorite foods). After all that activity, he lowers his large body into a pile of soft sand left for his napping pleasure under an old southern oak or cluster of pine trees.
But for Bo, being free to roam a vast habitat and choose what vegetation to eat was a process.
Before retirement to the Refuge, Bo spent three decades performing for the entertainment of others as a star in the circus, where all his decisions were made for him. Castrated at a young age, he traveled with the circus’s female herd and was the youngest of the group.
Elephant Aid International founder and CEO Carol Buckley notes, “Bo benefits from exposure to Tarra and Mundi who both utilize the habitat and the food it provides much more naturally and effectively. Being raised in a zoo setting and then later traveling as a performer, Bo did not have exposure to nature as Mundi and Tarra did. From them, he is learning what he would have as a calf from his wild family if he had not been captive born. The learning curve has been slow for Bo because he exhibits learned helplessness. In his life before the Refuge, all his needs were provided for him, whereas here he is learning how to fulfill his needs on his own.”
The Refuge has an EleCam system where Bo is often seen. He has developed a loyal following of supporters who enjoy watching him interact with his four-legged friends. For many, this is the first time they have witnessed an elephant feeling secure enough to lie down out in the open or share sweet trunk touches with another elephant. The webcams and videos of Bo and his friends allow the public to watch natural elephant behavior while granting the elephants the freedom and seclusion they need to thrive.
Learn more about Bo at https://elephantaidinternational.org/elephant-bo and watch Bo, Mundi, and Tarra live on the EleCam at https://www.youtube.com/@ElephantAidInternational1.
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About Elephant Aid International (EAI): Elephant Aid International (EAI) is a nonprofit organization that creates innovative approaches to the care and management of elephants worldwide. We unchain elephants in Asia, teach humane methods of training and handling elephants, and provide a natural habitat refuge for retired elephants in the U.S. Learn more at http://elephantaidinternational.org.
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