A little under two weeks ago, the Babar Rescue Centre located to new premises, which has meant that Christmas has been put on the back burner this year. However, all at the centre are working hard to unpack and settle in ready in time to enjoy the New Years Eve festivities! With bottles of bubbly at the ready and the compulsory buffet on order, it should be a night to remember (or perhaps not where alcohol and elephants are concerned)!

Check back here for a report on events……………

UPDATE  12/01/2010 – due to a read card error on the camera, we are unable to publish the photos at the moment. We hope to rectify this problem shortly.

King Babar (TN) and Queen Celeste (TN)

All the way from Nashville, Tennessee, we are pleased to announce the arrival of King Babar (TN) and Queen Celeste (TN).

Arriving on Thanksgiving, the pair emerged out of their cramped transportation box with a sigh of relief.

We’ll let them settle in and feast on a special Thanksgiving meal of Turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie!

UPDATE-NEW ARRIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS BELOW-UPDATE

We've made it....

....how exciting....

...and out of the transport box!

The first style D female resident at the centre, we’ll let her rest and recuperate over the next few days in her new surroundings before asking her about her history.

Queen Celeste (CA) at the Reception Centre

RESIDENTS:-

The girls have been gathering in the kitchen perfecting the art of soup and stew making, whilst the boys are reaping the rewards of home brew. All are looking forward to long cosy nights ahead and the upcoming seasonal events.

You’ll be pleased to hear that King Babar (Madison, WI) is making great progress. His rehabilitation is going well, and with the aid of his walking stick, his mobility is improving everyday. It’s success stories like this that make the BRC prove how worthwhile it is.

RIVAL CENTRE:-

Our efforts of relocating unwanted elephants to the BRC have become increasingly more difficult, as we  appear to have started to compete with an individual in the US when trying to secure elephants from ebay. As our funds are limited, we are finding that more elephants are heading to this individual rather than to the BRC, so all we can do is hope that they are heading to a similar place of safety and retirement.

Remember…..if you know of an elephant who needs a new home, we can help with travel costs to get them to the BRC, please use the contact form for further information.

NEW ARRIVALS:-

We are patiently waiting the arrival of two new residents, Queen Celeste from Bakersfield, California, and Cousin Arthur from Warren, New Jersey.

Poor old Celeste seems to be taking an absolute age to arrive, at present we are trying to trace her exact location. All we know is that she has left the US, but cannot get confirmation that she is in the UK.

To make matters worse, we also anticipate a delayed arrival for Cousin Arthur as the transportation workers are due to go on strike next week.

WEBSITE UPDATES:-

Updates to the website are intended to be completed this weekend- we know we are behind in updating the who’s who section, but now that the busy summer months have ended we plan to get back on track. And of course, with 23 residents a new group photo is long overdue!

TAILORING SERVICE:-

I have been told that the Reception Tailoring Service will be resuming it’s work during the winter months, and aims to clothe all those new arrivals who want a new outift and identity to boot.

EVENTS:-

Social Secretary King Babar (MO) is looking for ideas for upcoming events to keep the residents entertained during the winter months. If you have anu suggestions, please let him have them via the contact form.

For many this was the first time they had slept under the stars….

'Enter the camping trip photo gallery'

Check back after the long bank holiday weekend for a photo record.

Cousin Arthur (CT), Queen Celeste (CT), Cousin Arthur (Hummelstown, PA) and King Babar (Madison, WI) have all become firm friends.

For King Babar (Madison, WI), it’s been a challenging first few weeks, but the tlc and support the Reception Centre and his new chums have given him has made the world of difference. Kitted out with his very own bespoke walking stick and sturdy pair of shoes, it appears nothing is going to stop him on his road to independence.

Firm Friends

All 4 newbies will be joining the rest of the residents on the camping trip which takes place before the end of this month. King Babar (MO), the BRC Social Secretary, has been busy working on a fun packed agenda for the trip. Photos of the trip will of course be posted so you can see what they all got up to.

We’d like to say thank you to all of you that took the time to contact the BRC website with suggestions as to how to resolve the elephant identification problem.

Whilst ideas such as the use of RFID chips or ear/trunk tags/rings have been suggested, we feel this could be seen as an infringement on the European Convention on Elephant Rights.

We are open to less intrusive ideas, and after speaking with residents, many have declared an interest in picking their own names.

We will report more on this after the first BRC AGM, which is due to take place in September, where identification will be discussed in detail.

We will be finding out more about this cheeky chap as the summer days progress, but in the meantime, we’re letting him relax and and adapt to his new surroundings.

The only problem we are now faced with, is that we have two style B Cousin Arthur’s from Pennsylvania….hmmm….

As the Rescue Centre grows, we need to think about how we can identify each elephant. If you have any ideas, please do drop us a line using the ‘contact us’  form.

Cousin Arthur (Hummelstown, PA)