I Want a Baby Elephant for Christmas

I hope you'll enjoy this poem written by my husband, John.

(written in the style of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas*")

I want a baby elephant for Christmas
Only a baby elephant will do
Don’t want no Angry Birds, no mittens for the snow
I want a baby elephant so I can watch him grow

I want baby elephant for Christmas
Santa knows exactly what to do
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has lots of babies there
Knowing that they need my help is more than I can bear

Won’t you adopt an elephant for Christmas?
I’d really like to get one in my name
No need to get him dirty, going down the chimney flue
Just leave him there in Kenya, that’s the best thing you can do

I can hardly wait for Christmas morning
As soon as I log on my email dings
Oh, can you see the joy when I get what I want
A profile and a photo of my orphan elephant

I want a baby elephant for Christmas
Only a baby elephant will do
There’s new orphan elephants who need a home today
Pick one for you and one for me and foster them, I say

This is going to be the greatest Christmas
I won’t be getting junk bought on a whim
I’ll have a year of fostering my elephant
And knowing that he needs me to help him

Is there someone in your life who would like a baby elephant for Christmas? It's not too late to make it happen. Your fostering certificate and information packet will be sent to the recipient by email. All monthly updates as well as lovely watercolor paintings of the orphans are also sent by email. Visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to choose an elephant and make your contribution.

*“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” was written by John Rox and performed by Gayla Peevey in 1953. This song was responsible for getting an actual hippopotamus donated to the Oklahoma City zoo. Perhaps our little parody will help deserving orphan elephants get fostered for Christmas, and all year long.

Joplin Tragedy, Elephant Exploited by Circus Promoter

On May 22, a tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, damaging or destroying much of the town. Many people were killed or injured. Our hearts go out to all who have been affected by this tragedy. Anyone who has not been through such a disaster cannot fully imagine how it feels to have your world turned upside down in moments. All help is welcomed.

Enter Zack Garden, promoter of the Piccadilly Circus, and an elephant named Okha. They had been scheduled to perform in the local arena that was instead needed as a makeshift hospital. An offer was made by the circus to use their elephants to help clear debris. City officials declined the offer.

Instead of their arena show, performers and crew of the circus entertained small groups and handed out treats. That's a great idea. But handlers also put a harness on Okha and took her into the wreckage. The media was all around, and they just can't resist an unusual story that looks heartwarming.



Any sensible person will wear sturdy shoes and heavy work gloves while working in a debris field. You need to protect your skin from the twisted metal, shattered glass, shredded wood and broken concrete. But an elephant doesn't have gloves or shoes. Although they are known for having thick skin, it is actually as sensitive as ours. Walking on hard man-made surfaces and through the wreckage puts them at risk for cuts and scrapes. Sharp items can become embedded between their toes or in the soft pads of their feet. This causes pain, infection and lasting damage if it is not treated promptly and properly.

Watching video of this event, I see that members of the public are close to the elephant. Generally the public is kept a safe distance from elephants when they are being moved in or out of an arena. This is for protection, in case the elephant breaks away from the handler. Here the elephant is in an unfamiliar environment, being asked to pull the painfully heavy weight of a vehicle. If she would break away, people would likely trip and fall into the debris while trying to get out of her way. She is also bobbing her head, a sign of distress.



According to the promoter, the elephant worked for only two hours before they stopping. That was long enough to generate publicity for the circus. A quick search brought up 35 articles, both national and local coverage. Lots of photos and video of an elephant dragging a few things out of the rubble. It hardly matters whether or not you support keeping elephants in captivity or using them for hard work. What was really accomplished in those two hours, helping a town to clear debris or promoting the circus?

Note: Here are some ways to help the people of Joplin, MO.

Go Elly Domain Registration Takes on Go Daddy

Did you hear the one about the CEO who thinks that the way to save an endangered species is to kill it? The one who believes the objectification of women is an entertaining and useful sales tool? Yes, I'm talking about Bob Parsons, the CEO of Go Daddy, the Internet registrar and web host service.

This week he published a video on his blog of a trip to Zimbabwe. He and a hunting party claim they went there to help villagers who have been troubled by human-elephant conflict. His video of killing a bull elephant and the subsequent butchering of the meat has offended many people who care even slightly about animals. His delight taken in this act of barbarism toward a member of an endangered species is driving a segment of his customers to transfer their domain registrations away from Go Daddy as soon as possible.

Are you looking for a new domain registrar? You're in luck. I just received this press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Go Elly Domain Registration Takes on Go Daddy

April 1, 2011

In response to Go Daddy CEO Bob Parson's recent trip to kill a member of our species, the African elephants of Zimbabwe have decided to enter his arena. Go Elly is a new domain registration service catering to anyone who loves and respects animals, especially elephants. We offer compassionate domain registration of .com, .net, .org and more Internet names.

Although the idea of African elephants providing this service may be surprising, we are actually well acquainted with online services. The tracking collars some of us wear allow us full access to the Internet. Go Elly will provide fast, accurate processing of your domain name purchases and transfers while researchers will still have full knowledge of our whereabouts at all time.

We look forward to working with everyone who is offended by domain service owners who devalue women and animals.

Company History 

Go Elly is a new entrant into the world of domain registration. At this time our website is still a work in progress. If you are interested in our services and looking for the link to place your order, please check the date on this press release. Thank you.


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Oh dear, it looks like the elephants got a bit ahead of themselves. Go Elly isn't ready for business after all, so I found several options for transferring your domain to a more compassionate host. If you act quickly, you can get great pricing and have part of the price donated to Save The Elephants or Heifer International. Read The Elephant in Bob Parsons’ Business for all the information you need. It also explains more about Bob Parsons and what is wrong with this entire hunting incident.

Update: Looks like the elephants got back to work and have their domain registration and web hosting ready to go. Ok, we actually found some good resources and built a page for them. The good news is that we will make a donation to support elephants for every order placed through our special links on Go Elly - Elephant Friendly Domain Registration and Web Hosting Services