PAST PHOTOS

Many of our recent visitors have noticed a glitch in our “elephant count” at EARS? Well, they’re right for EARS claims to be home to 4 elephants and there appears to be a 5th pachyderm in the herd.

The littlest of the the five is a very welcome visitor from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Mailika. Mailika is a long time resident of Discovery Kingdom dating back to the days when they were still Marine World. She suffers from extreme food allergies, a condition she’s had to deal with all her life. Maillika is actually allergic to most hays. She came to the EARS facility in Feb. of 2008 to see how her condition reacted to our environment here in Monterey Conuty.


	Left to Right: Mailika, Butch, Buffy, Krisi & Paula




		“Mailika” and her new bestest friend, “Butch”.


		Although her age of 21yrs. old would suggest she should be much larger than she is, her condition has stunted her growth so she just remains... little... Asside from her reaction to certain foods, pollens, dusts, and several other things typically found in any barn, Mailika remains very healthy when supplemented with the vitamins and medications the Six Flags team has worked so hard to iron out.

	Six Flags helps to cover Mailika’s food and medical costs while EARS donates the time and personnel for her care. She’s been a joy to have in the herd for the other elephants have grown to love her as much as the caretakers do. We are in no hurry to see her leave and are always discussing the possibility of finding a donor to cover her medical costs which could possibly result in her staying...




		Standing next to “Buffy”, who could stand to loose a few, “Mailika’s “ size is really apparent...



				Whenever opportunity allows, we do our best at EARS to allow our elephants to participate in the efforts of other worthwhile non-profit organizations. One such opportunity came when the ALS Association contacted us to take a photo with one of their members. The photo was to be used to help stimulate interests in their fundraising efforts. It was an honor to meet Mr. Joe Luis Garcia (seen above under and in front of “Butch”) and to help advertise their fundraising efforts by asking all to visit their website at www.walk.fightals.com and/or www.alsabayarea.org .






						Once again, we were given the honor of allowing our elephants to participate in a very special tour for some very special people. Being blind did not stop these people from learning, enjoying, and seeing our Butch in their own very special way.


	(In order from top to bottom) "Buffy", EARS Director Charlie Sammut, and Baseball superstar, Reggie Jackson.

Every once in a while, we get a visitor at EARS that simply fascinates us. Sister Marie is far more than just “Sister” Marie, a full fledged, card carrying Catholic Nun, she’s also “Dr. Marie”, full fledged, card carrying, licensed veterinarian... When she’s not busy fulfilling her religious obligations in Oregon, Sister Marie practices veterinary medicine at a clinic that donates the proceeds from her work back into the community. Talk about squeezing as much into life as possible...

We get lots of photos sent to us by visitors who come to the EARS facility to visit but every once in a while, we get one that really catches our eye... like this photo shot by friend and animal lover, Mary Juechter from Michigan. Mary was with us in the elephant’s play pen when she shot this photo from under “Butch” of “Lisa” and “Buffy” playing in the pond. Great job Mary and thanks for sharing it with us.

It’s not all completely about elephants, sometimes its about their friends... like our two new comers to our elephant playpan, Azizi and Badu, two Asian Water Buffalo that were donated to Wild Things by EARS Donors, Mark & Eileen Whisler. The Whislers have had the buffalo as pets since they were babies (7+ years) and agreed to give the relocation a trial run after seeing the relationship the elephants of EARS had with other mixed species. Today, it couldn’t be more peaceful. Its been a perfect match and we thank Mark & Eileen for bringing Azizi and Badu into our lives.


		1 zebra, 2 ostriches, five elephants and now, two water buffalo round off our playpen incredibly. All get along great and even physically play together at times. And as you can see below, yes, they really do like water...