How to Move an Elephant
2024-09-19
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1When it comes to the business of moving elephants, Dr. Amir Khalil and his team might be the best.
2The work experience of this Egyptian animal doctor includes possibly the most famous elephant relocation ever.
3In 2020, Khalil's team saved Kaavan, an Asian elephant, from years of loneliness at a zoo in Pakistan.
4They flew him to Cambodia, where he could live a happier life at an elephant reserve.
5At the time, Kaavan was called the "world's loneliest elephant."
6The relocation project was a great success.
7But Kaavan was not the only elephant that needed help.
8Next on the list was the last captive elephant in South Africa.
9Charley, an aging African elephant, had outlived all the other elephants at a zoo in Pretoria.
10The zoo was Charley's home for more than 20 years.
11Wildlife experts say that elephants are sensitive animals.
12And Charley was showing signs of being deeply unhappy since his partner, Landa, died in 2020.
13Zoo officials decided he should enjoy his final years in a better place for an old elephant.
14His new home would be a large private game reserve some 200 kilometers away.
15There, he would be able to make some new elephant friends.
16As an animal rescue specialist at the Four Paws wildlife welfare organization, Khalil was a clear choice for this massive job.
17Captured as a young calf in western Zimbabwe in the 1980s, Charley was taken from his herd.
18He spent 16 years in a South African circus.
19He then spent 23 years as the main attraction at Pretoria's National Zoological Garden.
20Zookeepers estimate Charley is 42 years old.
21He has spent 40 years in captivity.
22"I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of people and children witnessed and enjoyed Charley," said Khalil.
23"I think it's time for him to also enjoy life and to live as an elephant."
24Elephants are highly intelligent, highly social animals, Khalil said.
25While Charley was unhappy, he could also be naughty and playful.
26Khalil compared Charley's last few sad years at the zoo to someone watching the same movie every day, alone.
27The technical parts of moving an elephant to a new home are complex.
28Khalil does not put the elephants to sleep.
29This is mainly because it is not good for such a big animal.
30But also, a sleeping elephant is hardly any easier to move.
31And so, a process began of training an old elephant to step willingly into a large metal transport container.
32At some point, Khalil and his team would load Charley into this container.
33Two other animal doctors, Dr. Marina Ivanova and Dr. Frank Göritz, worked with Khalil as part of the Kaavan relocation team.
34They first met Charley two years ago.
35The meetings were meant to help the doctors decide how ready he was to move.
36They were also meant to help them earn Charley's trust.
37The interactions were carefully controlled.
38They involved teaching Charley to respond to calls to walk up to a "training wall" that has spaces in it for the team to offer him a food reward.
39In Charley's case, pumpkins, papaya, and beetroot are his favorites.
40The same process was finally used to attract Charley into the transport container.
41It was thought that it might take many months for Charley to learn to step happily into the container.
42But he was ready to go after less than two weeks of training.
43"He was curious, and thinking, what is this new toy?" said Ivanova.
44In late August, after an hours-long road trip on the back of a truck, Charley moved into his new home at the Shambala private game reserve.
45This is a huge change for Charley.
46So, he will be held in an area separate from the main park for a few weeks to let him get used to his new home, the team said.
47The park contains wild elephant herds that Charley may join.
48Khalil said it is still very rare for captive elephants to be reintroduced to a wild setting.
49He praised zoo and government officials for permitting this project to go ahead.
50"It's a great message from South Africa that even an old elephant deserves a new chance," he said.
51At Shambala, Charley will be a wild elephant for the first time in 40 years with thousands of hectares of land to explore.
52He will have the freedom to take a mud bath.
53The animal doctors note that elephants are known to have a good memory.
54So, Charley may remember his life as a calf before he was captured.
55Charley is already making contact with the other elephants in the park from his holding pen, Ivanova said.
56Elephants use deep rumbles to communicate.
57Those deep sounds can be heard five kilometers away.
58"I hear him rumbling," said Ivanova, happily.
59"We'll help him turn into a wild elephant again."
60I'm Anna Matteo. And I'm Andrew Smith.
1When it comes to the business of moving elephants, Dr. Amir Khalil and his team might be the best. The work experience of this Egyptian animal doctor includes possibly the most famous elephant relocation ever. 2In 2020, Khalil's team saved Kaavan, an Asian elephant, from years of loneliness at a zoo in Pakistan. They flew him to Cambodia, where he could live a happier life at an elephant reserve. 3At the time, Kaavan was called the "world's loneliest elephant." The relocation project was a great success. But Kaavan was not the only elephant that needed help. 4Next on the list was the last captive elephant in South Africa. 5Charley, an aging African elephant, had outlived all the other elephants at a zoo in Pretoria. The zoo was Charley's home for more than 20 years. Wildlife experts say that elephants are sensitive animals. And Charley was showing signs of being deeply unhappy since his partner, Landa, died in 2020. 6Zoo officials decided he should enjoy his final years in a better place for an old elephant. His new home would be a large private game reserve some 200 kilometers away. There, he would be able to make some new elephant friends. 7As an animal rescue specialist at the Four Paws wildlife welfare organization, Khalil was a clear choice for this massive job. 8Charley's story 9Captured as a young calf in western Zimbabwe in the 1980s, Charley was taken from his herd. He spent 16 years in a South African circus. He then spent 23 years as the main attraction at Pretoria's National Zoological Garden. Zookeepers estimate Charley is 42 years old. He has spent 40 years in captivity. 10"I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of people and children witnessed and enjoyed Charley," said Khalil. "I think it's time for him to also enjoy life and to live as an elephant." 11Elephants are highly intelligent, highly social animals, Khalil said. While Charley was unhappy, he could also be naughty and playful. Khalil compared Charley's last few sad years at the zoo to someone watching the same movie every day, alone. 12The technical parts of moving an elephant to a new home are complex. Khalil does not put the elephants to sleep. This is mainly because it is not good for such a big animal. But also, a sleeping elephant is hardly any easier to move. 13And so, a process began of training an old elephant to step willingly into a large metal transport container. At some point, Khalil and his team would load Charley into this container. 14Two other animal doctors, Dr. Marina Ivanova and Dr. Frank Göritz, worked with Khalil as part of the Kaavan relocation team. They first met Charley two years ago. The meetings were meant to help the doctors decide how ready he was to move. They were also meant to help them earn Charley's trust. 15The interactions were carefully controlled. They involved teaching Charley to respond to calls to walk up to a "training wall" that has spaces in it for the team to offer him a food reward. In Charley's case, pumpkins, papaya, and beetroot are his favorites. 16The same process was finally used to attract Charley into the transport container. It was thought that it might take many months for Charley to learn to step happily into the container. But he was ready to go after less than two weeks of training. 17"He was curious, and thinking, what is this new toy?" said Ivanova. 18In late August, after an hours-long road trip on the back of a truck, Charley moved into his new home at the Shambala private game reserve. 19This is a huge change for Charley. So, he will be held in an area separate from the main park for a few weeks to let him get used to his new home, the team said. The park contains wild elephant herds that Charley may join. 20Khalil said it is still very rare for captive elephants to be reintroduced to a wild setting. He praised zoo and government officials for permitting this project to go ahead. 21"It's a great message from South Africa that even an old elephant deserves a new chance," he said. 22At Shambala, Charley will be a wild elephant for the first time in 40 years with thousands of hectares of land to explore. He will have the freedom to take a mud bath. The animal doctors note that elephants are known to have a good memory. So, Charley may remember his life as a calf before he was captured. 23Charley is already making contact with the other elephants in the park from his holding pen, Ivanova said. Elephants use deep rumbles to communicate. Those deep sounds can be heard five kilometers away. 24"I hear him rumbling," said Ivanova, happily. "We'll help him turn into a wild elephant again." 25I'm Anna Matteo. And I'm Andrew Smith. 26Gerald Imray reported this story for The Associated Press from Cape Town, South Africa. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 27____________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29reserve -n. an area of land set apart 30sensitive -adj. easily or strongly affected or hurt : readily affected or changed by the action of a certain thing 31herd -n. a number of animals of one kind kept or living together 32attraction -n. something that pleases or draws people in 33naughty -adj. behaving badly or improperly 34train -v. to form by instruction, discipline, or drill : training -n. 35respond -v. to react in response 36curious -adj. marked by desire to investigate and learn 37deserve -v. to be worthy of 38rumble -v. to make a low heavy rolling sound 39We want to hear from you. What your thoughts on this topic? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. Our comment policy is here.