John,
Two years–that’s how long our elephant client Jambo had with her mother and herd.
Two years of staying physically close to her mother for warmth and protection. Two years of taking milk from her. Two years of learning from her and from other family members–how to use her trunk, how to navigate her surroundings, how to explore and play.
That joyful, precious time ended on a terrible day in 1985 when Jambo likely saw her adult family members killed in front of her and she was violently taken from her home.
At two years old, Jambo was still just a baby. She would have looked forward to a lifetime staying close to her mother, as all female elephants do. The disruption of their unique bond would have been deeply traumatic for both mother and daughter.
Terrified and confused, baby Jambo was loaded onto a plane destined for an exotic animal transport “hub” in the US, and sold to a circus that would become well known for abusing elephants.
Instead of spending her youth roaming freely, she spent it entertaining humans. Instead of learning what it meant to be an elephant, she learned the pain of the bullhook and what it meant to live under the control of humans.
Jambo has experienced unimaginable trauma and violence in her lifetime—but, with your support, we have the chance to help her heal.
