We have traveled to every State in the U.S. and seen many unusual things offered in other areas, but today we discovered right here in our area is an exotic animal preserve housing seven Asian elephants, a dromedary, a zebra, a family of lemurs and more. This fourth generation, 100 acre farm is the last of its kind in this country and according to the owner, in less than 10 years the Asian elephant is destined to be extinct unless the 1974 ban on exotic animal captivity reproduction and care is lifted. The ban was designed to protect the animal, but like so many government regulations, it has done more to harm than help. When the bald eagle was facing extinction, they began captivity breeding and care and now it is no longer in jeopardy and actually is thriving in every State. That is one of the reasons you rarely see elephants in a zoo these days. Most of those born prior to the ban are dying off and the population growth in the natural habitats of these animals is shrinking very quickly; too quickly to allow them to thrive. Last year alone there were 3,000 killed in India from eating garbage, hit by vehicles, etc. The droughts in the middle east and Africa are killing tens of thousand per year.
Off my soapbox and on to the adventure. In Williston, Florida is the Two Tails Ranch where, by appointment only, you can learn all about Asian elephants and meet 5 of the 7 housed there with fairly close interaction. The farm run by the owner, Patricia Zerbini, and her two sons and daughters-in-law do these tours as a way of earning enough money to care for the animals. According to her story, her great grandfather began keeping and caring for exotic animals and it became the family business down through the generations. Her misfortune was she picked the most expensive animals to care for.
After explaining the differences between the African and Asian elephants and some valuable information, we were able to ask as many questions as we could come up with. Then Luke came up close to show us his painting hobby. Unlike a certain President’s son, Luke’s paintings do not sell for six figure prices! You can, however, buy them in the Gift Shop. He even took a bow at the end.
Luke Taking a Bow
One of the questions we asked was how did you train him to do that? Patricia assured us you don’t really teach an elephant to do anything it doesn’t want to do but that Luke was raised from a baby and spent a lot of time with her sons. He plays soccer, basketball and loves to paint, so that’s what he does.
It was interesting to hear that the Asian elephant is the direct descendant of the Mammoth of the ice age (see his crossed tusks) and because of its size and weight, it cannot lay down for more than 15 minutes because his internal organs will shift inside and his lungs will fill with water and he will drown. They also have to move constantly to redistribute their weight to prevent damage to internal organs.
Anyone who was interested in taking a photo with an elephant could pay $5 for the privilege which we declined because we had our sights on bigger and better things.
Next you had an opportunity to hand feed an elephant for a fee of course. Actually, I don’t begrudge them the fees because this all helps to offset the cost of feeding and housing them.
Recognize the guy in the red shirt?
Of course the best came last. We were actually able to ride Patty the elephant for a short distance around the paddock. You could feel each leg move under the blanket with each step. I had no idea that my body had gotten so old and rigid until I had to spread my legs wide enough to fit over Patty’s back. I was really glad it only lasted one loop around the paddock or they may have had to get reinforcements to get me off.
The rest of the tour included the dromedary, zebra, African tortoise and Lemurs which were nice to see but are available at most zoos. If Ms. Zerbini is correct, Two Tails Ranch may be one of the few places people will be able to see Asian elephants in years to come.
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