11 Elephants. 1 Plane.

In the book ZOO STORY, By Thomas French; he writes all about a six year research project that was done by him and his team in early 2000. It’s interesting because right in the first chapter he explains the steps of an elephant or other wild animal being taken from their home environment to captivity. That’s another thing I hadn’t thought about before researching; how the animals got to the zoos or circuses and if they were born in captivity or are missing their home, freedom of space, or family. Right on page one, French writes, “Nothing could have prepared them for what they were experiencing. These were not circus animals, accustomed to captivity. All of these elephants were wild, extracted at great expense and through staggering logistics from their herds inside game reserves in Swaziland. All headed for zoos in San Diego and Tampa…The elephants were confined in eleven metal crates inside the semidarkness of the freighter jet’s cavernous hold. Before they were loaded into the plane, they had been sedated.” (French, 1) I’ll be in San Diego in two days and am going to the zoo; these elephants in this book, which were taken from their natural habitat in 2003, are still there; it’s a small world.

French, Thomas, Mr. "Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives [Bargain Price] [Paperback]." Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives: Thomas French: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.