On Thursday, September 23, Bo, a 34-year-old male elephant, will become the first resident of the Atapulgus Elephant Sanctuary in Georgia, USA. He currently plans to arrive at noon.
The sanctuary is the newest of the three elephant sanctuaries in the United States. The 850-acre natural habitat Elephant Paradise is a project of Elephant Aid International founded by Carol Buckley.
Bo will occupy a 7-acre habitat in the first few months of the shelter. He will have free access to pastures, woods, ponds and a new custom-designed fully automatic elephant house. He will eventually occupy 100 acres of habitat
Bo is 10 feet 6 inches tall and weighs more than 10,000 pounds. The circumference of his front foot is 5 feet 4 inches.
Due to their power, bull (male) elephants require greater fencing ability than female elephants. The shelter built a 2,000-foot reinforced fence for Bo, made of six-inch-thick steel pipe, driven four feet into the ground, seven feet high, and connected to a three-inch steel roof railing.
Bo came to Georgia Refuge from George Carden Circus. He was born in Florida and was a member of the George Carden family for nearly 30 years. Partly because he was castrated at the age of five, and his thin temper was very calm. Therefore, he has not experienced the annual season of elevated testosterone levels, during which bulls have become very dangerous to other male elephants and humans.
Carol Buckley is an internationally recognized authority on the rescue, rehabilitation and welfare of captive elephants. Her innovative model in elephant care, training and handling has been widely replicated and applied to captive conditions in the United States and Asia.
Buckley has experience in designing safe habitats for male elephants in Asia. She designed a 150-acre solar chainless corral in Bannerghatta National Park in India, the first of all zoos in the country. In the past ten years, Carol has provided pedicure services to more than 100 elephants in Nepal, many of which are bulls.
To learn about Bo's progress, donate to Bo's Home activities, and learn more about the North American Elephant Sanctuary, please visit https://elephantaidinternational.org/bo-media-page/.