R.I.P. Ned the Elephant.

Ned upon his arrival at the Elephant Sanctuary; 1 ton underweight

Meet Ned. Ned was a 21 year old, male, Asian Elephant. He was born into captivity at Busch Gardens Amusement Park, where he was later sold into circus life at the age of two.

On November 8, 2008, Ned was confiscated from circus trainer Lance Ramos by the USDA for failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. The reason? Ned was 1 ton underweight. He was placed with The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee so that he could gain weight, improve his health, and then move on to a more permanent housing situation with another sanctuary more suited to care for him long term.

Even with the specialized care that he was receiving at one of the top elephant sanctuaries in the world, Ned lost another 700 pounds, and finally succumbed to his illnesses this past Friday, May 15th. He was 21 years old; a mere 1/3 of the normal lifespan for an elephant.

A necropsy revealed that his intestines were full of ulcers. Sanctuary director, Carol Buckley, felt strongly that these were a result of the stress that Ned had undergone as a performing elephant in the circus.

Former owner of Ned, Lance Ramos, also known as Lancelot Kollman, said that Ned was always a picky eater. This apparently wasn’t reason enough for the USDA, who previously leveled charges against Ramos for allegations of abuse against two lion cubs, stemming back to 2005. A U.S. Circuit court ruled last month to revoke his USDA license in response to these charges. The issue of Ned will now go into a more serious realm because Ned was an Asian Elephant; a species that is endangered. Ramos could now face federal charges of compromising the welfare of an endangered animal.

One of my favorite commencement speeches ever was given by late folk-singer, Utah Phillips. When he reached the podium and looked out at the graduating class of new hopeful optimists, ready to start their journey into life, he said:  ”You’re about to be told one more time that you’re America’s most valuable, natural, resource.  Have you seen what they do to valuable, natural, resources?  Have you seen a strip mine?  Have you seen a clear-cut in a forest?  Have you seen a polluted river?  Don’t ever let them call you a valuable, natural, resource!  They’re gonna strip mine your soul!  They’re gonna clear-cut your best thoughts for the sake of profit, unless you learn to resist, ‘cause the profit system follows the path of least resistance, and following the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked!”   

In Ned’s case, Utah Phillips commencement speech couldn’t be any more accurate. Ned’s soul was strip-mined, and his best interest was clear-cut for the sake of profit. His intestines became full of ulcers, and he was so frightened of human contact when he got to the sanctuary that he wouldn’t go near any of the handlers. He literally lived his life starved, underweight, in pain, and overworked. And this is what we do to our endangered, natural, valuable, resources.

Rest in Peace, Ned. Hopefully other lives will be spared by what we have learned from your death.