PRINCE: First Day In His Pool

July 2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of Prince's arrival at PAWS' 2,300-acre ARK 2000 sanctuary. The feature article in our July 2021 newsletter is a tribute to this wonderful elephant. You can read it here: https://conta.cc/374pepY

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Prince is an Asian bull elephant now living at the Performing Animal Welfare Society's (PAWS) 2,300-acre ARK 2000 captive wildlife sanctuary in Northern California. He arrived at PAWS on July 21, 2011, and is now a next door neighbor to Nicholas, another Asian bull elephant. Prince is a retired circus elephant donated voluntarily to PAWS, at its request, by Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. He was born on May 24, 1987, at the Portland Zoo as part of their captive breeding program, and sold to the circus. Prince's mother was Me-tu, also born at Portland Zoo; his father was Hugo.

You are viewing a video that was taken in 2011 on the day after Prince arrived at ARK 2000. PAWS' founders and directors Pat Derby and Ed Stewart gently coaxed him out of his barn for the first time while giving him treats (bananas are his favorite). Prince moved about cautiously, looked at his pool, but did not go in at first. Later that day he returned to the pool, hesitated for a second, then plowed right into the cool water. As Pat and Ed watched, he splashed and bobbed around with the casual aplomb of a longtime resident. He returned to the pool several times that day.
After slowly and patiently introducing him to his new home, and allowing him to get used to these unfamiliar surroundings, Prince was finally introduced to his large habitat.

Today he has 24/7 access to his barn, small yard and large outdoor habitat at ARK 2000. His outdoor habitat consists of acres of rolling hills with majestic oak and pine trees, grass and two pools. One pool is on a hill near his barn (his favorite and the one shown in this video), the other is on the back side of his habitat. On most days he can usually be found napping on the side of a hill.

To ensure that all animals living at PAWS have the most natural, intrusion-free lives possible, our sanctuaries are not open to the public, with the exception of a limited number of educational events at ARK 2000. Visit the calendar of events page on our website to learn more. PAWS does not breed, sell, or rent its animals or make them perform.

The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) was formed in 1984 to rescue and care for abused, neglected or retired exotic and wild animals. PAWS operates three sanctuaries in California, and cares for elephants, big cats, bears, and other wild and exotic species. PAWS actively advocates on behalf of captive wildlife, and educates the public about issues affecting these animals in captivity and in the wild. PAWS established the first elephant sanctuary in the U.S. in 1986. Since then, 19 elephants have found refuge at the sanctuary. PAWS advocates for an end to the suffering of captive wild animals through legislation and education and was integral to the passage of milestone legislation in California, including: establishing greater protections for captive elephants and other wildlife; prohibiting up-close, canned hunts of wild animals; and ending the use of cruel elephant bullhooks in Los Angeles and Oakland, and then the entire state of California. PAWS’ legislative activity extends outside of California, including ending the use of elephant bullhooks in the state of Rhode Island and various U.S. cities, and providing expert support for captive wildlife protection bills.

For more information, visit our website at www.pawsweb.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Видео PRINCE: First Day In His Pool канала PAWSWEB