S PA C E T O R O A M AT
Elephant Refuge of North America
The small town of Attapulgus, Georgia, located less than 30
miles northwest of Tallahassee, will soon welcome some new
large neighbors. Elephant Refuge of North America (ERNA)
has recently made Attapulgus its home. Carol Buckley, the
founder and president of Elephant Aid International (EAI), the
parent company of ERNA, has been caring for elephants for
decades and graciously gave us a tour of the refuge’s stunning
site as well as insight on all she has done and is currently doing
for elephants locally and internationally.
ERNA spans 850 acres of land with many qualities that make
it a suitable habitat for elephants. The location’s humidity, mild
nighttime temperatures, warm winters, and annual rainfall
of 50 inches make it the perfect environment for elephants.
ERNA’s location offers a mixture of forest and pasture land as
well as ten fresh water springs, two lakes, a pond, and a creek.
One lake, appropriately named Elephant Lake, has a sloped
entry and a shallow area that the elephants are sure to enjoy.
The abundance of natural water sources makes this location
even more ideal as older elephants naturally do not stray far
from water. The vegetation change throughout the refuge is
also great for elephants. Throughout the enclosures, hardwood
bottoms, which are areas canopied by trees, provide the perfect
spot for elephants to cool off in the midday heat. There is plenty
of grass and bamboo on the property as well as river cane and
sweet gum trees, which elephants love.
One of many lakes
e wild grasses
The habitat is full of edibl
and fruits.
The elephants will be able to live off the land as they would
in their natural habitat thanks to the natural vegetation on site.
However, caregivers will assess each elephant’s needs and
provide supplemental food as needed, and they will likely use
supplemental feeding initially to help build trust between the
caregivers and elephants. The environment of the refuge should
only improve as the elephants make it their home as elephants
play crucial roles in their ecosystem. In fact, ecosystems often
fail when elephants leave the area. Buckley describes them as
the “keystone species” or “architect” of their ecosystem since
their impact helps maintain overgrown vegetation, open up
dense wooded areas creating pastures, and even recycle bio-
matter. An elephant only retains about 46% of its nutritional
intake after digestion, leaving the remaining 54% to be cycled
back into the ecosystem.
With Buckley’s vast knowledge of and experience with
elephants, she has designed ERNA with the natural herd
behavior and culture of elephants in mind. Elephants are
matriarchal by nature, and ERNA plans to accept solely female
elephants due to the nature of elephant social structures.
Naturally, elephants live in matriarchal herds made up of
females of all ages and preadolescent males. The female herd
has developed to raise calves, while mature males often live a
semi solitary existence. In the wild, male elephants are pushed
out of the herd as they mature and form temporary bachelor
herds with other young male elephants. The young male
elephants follow an adult male elephant to learn behavior and
then separate to live less socially. In addition, males in musth
(annual season) can be very dangerous.
Having a herd-like social community at ERNA will make it
easier for the elephants to adjust after they arrive. The refuge
plans to house a maximum of ten elephants to ensure healthy
herd dynamics. Carol has personally witnessed a seven
member elephant herd struggling when another elephant was
introduced into the herd. After the addition of an additional
member, the herd fractured. Relationships were negatively
affected when the herd grew larger than is natural for Asian
elephants. Therefore, ERNA will monitor and be mindful of
the herd’s well-being as they introduce new elephants to the
refuge.
Elephants have a seventy to eighty year lifespan, and the
elephants who will call ERNA home have likely been through
many difficult circumstances throughout their decades of
life. Construction of the required fencing and barns is near
completion. There are no elephants in residence yet, but
plans are underway to welcome Mundi, an African elephant
currently living in the Dr. Juan A. Rivera Zoo in Puerto Rico.
Despite the zoo’s caregivers’ best efforts, the government of
Puerto Rico, citing their own welfare regulations, determined
that it was in Mundi’s best interest to move to ERNA. Mundi
has spent the last twenty-nine years in a small zoo enclosure
alone. There has been concern expressed by those who know
Mundi regarding her ability to socialize with other elephants
considering her decades of isolation. Carol shared a story
of an elephant she helped rescue, Bunny, whose experience
was similar to Mundi’s. After forty years of living alone
in captivity, Bunny was nervous upon arriving at a
sanctuary. However, she immediately relaxed when
living in the
di , an Af ric an elephant currently
M un Rico
ra Zoo in Puerto Construction of the quarantine barn
Dr. Juan A. Rive
greeted by a resident elephant named Tarra. Bunny instantly
relaxed around Tarra and followed her to meet the rest of the
herd. It did not take long for Bunny to join the herd as she led
her new friends to wade in a nearby pond.
The goal is to welcome Mundi by the end of 2018. At the
refuge, Mundi will not only be able to receive the proper
resources for her care, but she will also be able to socialize
with other elephants. There are plans in place to welcome other
elephants in addition to Mundi, and a new herd will hopefully
form at the refuge soon.
However, before they can welcome Mundi and the other
elephants, the quarantine barn needs to be built. Construction
has started, and the quarantine barn is expected to be completed
by the end of this summer. The barn will be the first area an
elephant will be introduced to in order to allow her to adjust to
her new home and undergo non-invasive medical examinations.
During this time, the elephant will have access to a 100 acre
area of the property complete with pastures, dense woods and
a pond.
Most elephants will need to get used to their new freedom.
Some elephants may spend as little as an hour in the barn while
others may spend a week, always with the option to explore
as far as they are comfortable. Retired circus elephants will
likely spend less time in the barn since they have traveled and
are more accustomed to different situations than retiring zoo
elephants.
The refuge’s goal is to make the elephants feel safe. In
addition to addressing physical conditions, the refuge will
focus on the mental and emotional health of the elephants.
Carol has experienced that minor physical conditions usually
improve following the improvement of mental and emotional
conditions. Once an elephant is fully acclimated to the 100-
acre quarantine area, she will transition to the remaining
cont. on page 28
cont. from page 13

Space to Roam at Elephant Refuge of North America

750 acres of land to join the herd. ERNA hopes to
welcome Mundi as soon as possible once the barn is
finished and more elephants shortly after her arrival.

The elephants’ privacy is a high priority for ERNA,

and only caregivers will be granted access to the
elephants’ habitat. Leaving behind a lifetime of
entertainment and exhibit, it is crucial that the
elephants have a chance to lead a normal life.
After construction is finished, the Elephant Refuge
of North America will not be open to visits from
850 acres of gentle rolling hills, lush pastures,
dense
forests, spring-fed lakes, creeks and streams

the public. To ensure privacy, the refuge has a double gated entry
and double fence system. While staff and volunteers will be able
to enter the first gate, only elephant caregivers will have access
beyond the second gate. A primary fence surrounds the property
for privacy, and a second fence secures the elephants in their new
habitat, allowing them uninterrupted access to the land within the
refuge.

Carol Buckley has over forty years of experience working with

elephants, twenty-five of which she says she has been working
for elephants. She studied exotic animal training at Moorpark
College, and while she was there, she met a baby elephant named
Fluffy who was a mascot of sorts for a tire store. Carol voluntarily
helped care for Fluffy, trained her, and booked her to perform at a
theme park in 1976. Buckley eventually bought Fluffy (whom she
renamed Tarra) in order to provide the best care for her and give
her a better life. Tarra has served as inspiration for much of what
Buckley has accomplished. In 1995, Carol purchased land for
her and Tarra to retire and reside for the remainder of their lives.
Construction of the quarantine barn

Following the advice of a group of elephant

lovers, the land was named The Elephant
Sanctuary, and a non profit was established to
make a home for needy elephants.

Unfortunately, after fifteen years and rescuing

twenty-three elephants, Buckley had to part
with the sanctuary and has been working to
regain custody of Tarra for seven years. Her
hope is to one day have Tarra call ERNA
home. Although she may want to, Carol
understands she cannot provide sanctuary for
every elephant. Therefore, with the refuge, she
hopes to create a model others can use in the Installing the elephant fence
future to build other sanctuaries.
Buckley is the founder, president, and CEO
of Elephant Aid International, a non-profit
organization that is a parent company of ERNA.
Through EAI, Carol seeks to improve elephants’
lives in Asia. She travels to several Asian
countries educating elephant trainers, called
mahouts, on compassionate, humane training
techniques as well as teaching them proper foot
care, creating corrals to get the elephants off
chains, and advocating for institutional changes.
The documentary Unchained (2017) depicts
the tradition of chaining elephants in Asian
countries and Buckley’s advocacy for “chain-free
Carol Buckley, Founder, President and CEO of Eleph
means pain-free” training. According to Carol, ant Aid International
progress and changes to elephant care are slowly
being made in Asia. Buckley wants people to
understand as much as we thrive on autonomy,
elephants do the same. When we deprive elephants of
autonomy, we are harming them. With autonomy, they
thrive while lack of autonomy usually causes ailments.

If you would like to join Carol in her efforts to improve

elephants’ lives, there are a few things you can do. First,
let people know. Share the news about what Buckley is
doing through EAI and ERNA with your friends. The
documentary Unchained is a helpful tool for spreading
awareness, and Carol is happy to do speaking engagements
at schools and other groups to spread awareness and
education as well.
Touring the sanctuary with Carol.
Secondly, donate. Elephant Refuge of North America
is funded by donations and fundraisers. Their current
fundraising campaigns are their build the barn and Mundi’s also has a small volunteer program with Elephant Aid
move campaigns. At the time of our tour, they had raised International, through which she allows a few interns to join
enough to pay for half of the barn, and so far they have her on her trips to Asia to learn about the work she does
raised approximately 40% of Mundi’s moving expenses. there. You can find more information about how you can get
Each donation toward one of these campaigns reduces the involved at www.elephantaidinternational.org.
time Mundi spends in a place that lacks proper resources
and socialization with other elephants. Carol Buckley said, “When you get to know elephants, [you
realize] we should be like them.” Elephants are beautiful,
You can also donate your time by lending a hand on intelligent, and loving animals. We hope you will consider
volunteer days at the refuge. ERNA is also looking for helping provide refuge for these incredible creatures.
some dedicated individuals to work as office staff, interns,
or elephant caregivers. If you are interested in applying, Alix Clise and Kimberly McMahon
you can email carol@elephantaidinternational.org. She Home & Yard Magazine