Photo Credit: Avaaz.org, courtesy of Born Free Foundation

Save the Elephants: STOP BLOODY IVORY

This week, two countries are seeking to break the worldwide ban on ivory trading — a decision that could wipe out whole elephant populations and bring these magnificent animals closer to extinction.

But many African states and conservationists support extending the ban on elephant-slaughtering ivory trade. The decision will be made at a UN meeting in Doha starting on 13 March, and global public opinion could tip the balance!

Sign the petition now using the form below, then spread the word — let’s deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures to the UN convention before it’s too late:

To the 175 parties of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species [CITIES]:

As citizens from around the world, we call on you to reject any exemptions in the global ban on the ivory trade, to extend that ban for at least 20 years, and to take all necessary steps to enforce that ban and protect the elephants.

Protect the elephants!

CITIES votes on March 13, 2010, so please take a minute to sign the petition now.  The web page includes links to share on Facebook and email your friends, making it easy for you to help spread the word.

Thanks!

-Windy Borman

Director, Producer & Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

Staff from the Prostheses Foundation prepare to take a mold of Motala's amputated leg.

Motala stepped on a landmine on August 15, 1999.  She received her first prosthetic limb 10 years later, on August 16, 2009, a historic event we filmed for The Eyes of Thailand documentary film.

Elephant landmine survivor, Motala, waits patiently as the Prostheses Foundation staff make a mold of her amputated leg in order to build her a new prosthetic limb.

After a brief set-back, she slowly began to put more and more weight on the prosthetic limb as she learned to walk with it.  On December 25, 2009, she received a new foot pad for the prosthesis, and on March 10, 2010 the Prostheses Foundation began to build her a new prosthetic limb, which they will present to her on March 13, 2010 at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital outside of Lampang, Thailand.

After filling the mold with plaster and letting it set, the Prostheses Foundation begins to smooth and sand the mold so that it matches Motala's measurements. They will use this mold to create a cushioned liner and the prosthesis.

We will post more pictures as we receive them from Soriada Salwala, the Founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital and featured in the elephant conservation documentary, The Eyes of Thailand. Stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director, Producer and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

Elephant Kamnoi pets Baby "Dante" at FAE.

On February 18, 2010 we announced that  Soraida Salwala, Founder of the FAE Elephant Hospital and featured in the elephant conservation documentary, The Eyes of Thailand, shared the successful birth of a new baby elephant on February 15.  One day later, Kamnoi and her healthy baby boy, whom they’ve since named Dante, arrived at FAE. To read the blog post, click here.

Baby Elephant Dante attempts to nurse at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

I am happy to report that Kamnoi and Dante are continuing to bond, although he sometimes needs to get a boost to reach his mother to nurse!

Baby Dante gets a boost from FAE staff to nurse.

Dr. Preecha and the staff at FAE are also supplementing his mother’s milk with goat’s milk.  Soriada wrote to explain:

Mother of Baby “Dante” does not have enough milk. She is feeding him but the milk is not enough. So, when he is still hungry, we feed him with goat milk.

Kamnoi watches as Dr. Preecha feeds Baby Dante at FAE.

Please send good thoughts for Dante to continue to grow to Soraida and her staff at FAE’s Elephant Hospital.  We’ll send updates as they come!

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director, Producer and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

Dr. Preecha feeds Baby Dante at FAE.

Motala and Mosha are the same. Mosha is not happy since she could not wear the prosthetic leg last week. We are looking forward to the new ones being made on The National Elephant Day (13 March).

We look forward to sharing the new pictures of Mosha and Motala, two elephant landmine survivors also featured in The Eyes of Thailand, walking on their new prostheses next week.  Please check back after March 13, 2010.

-Windy Borman

Director, Producer and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

Thailand Elephants Cry for Help!

by Sequoia Kay-Hill age 11 Boynton Middle School

Thailand Elephants are from crying for help
With a Voice that must be heard
From being beaten, starved, maimed and distraught
From wandering earth with only one purpose
To be in a circus, zoo or working at a logging station
To make money and entertain tourists
From all over the world
To walking the streets begging for food
From elephants taking people on rides
Doing gymnastics in the streets
From little baby elephants being taken away from their parents
To be starved for days on end, broken into submission

Thailand elephants are from crying for help
With a voice that must be heard
Elephants are from emotions
From shedding one solitary tear from their eyes
From happy moments
To sad and depressing ones

Thailand elephants are from crying for help
With a voice that must be heard
Thailand Elephants are from the joy of seeing friends again
From being cared for by smiling faces and friendly hands
From comfortable sanctuary instead of a life of torture
From seeing that someone cares for them
From spraying themselves with water from a pond
To roaming free

Thailand elephants are from crying for help
With a voice that must be heard
From stepping on land mines
To having loving people make prosthetic legs for them
From having a broken leg, yet still having to work
From elephant hospitals starting to arise
From people caring for these fascinating beings

Thailand elephants are from crying for help
With a voice that must be heard
People this cruelty must stop
Ring out with your voices
Think with your hearts
How could this go on for so long
Our fellow creatures are in trouble
And need our help
Always remember
Speak with your heart
The voice for elephants

Thank you to Ms. Morton and all her students who continue to fight to save elephants!

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Producer, Director and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

Mosha (photo credit: Collecting Smiles Club)

Mosha (which means Star in the Karin language) is a 3-year old Asian Elephant at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital. When she was 7-months old, Mosha stepped on a landmine along the Thai-Burma border. Her owner donated her to FAE, where Soraida Salwala and her staff could rehabilitate and care for her.

Mosha, with chalk on her amputated leg, which helps reduce the irritation of wearing her prosthetic leg. (photo credit: Collecting Smile Club)

When we first met Mosha in 2007, she was a curious 2-year old, who wobbled on three legs.  When we returned in August 2009, Producer/Director Windy Borman filmed Mosha receiving a prosthetic limb from the Prostheses Foundation for the documentary, The Eyes of Thailand.

Mosha with a member of the FAE staff at the Elephant Hospital. (photo credit: Collecting Smiles Club).

To see Mosha’s progression over the years, please click here.

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Producer, Director and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

A Thailand Elephant

by Jaina Swanhart age 11, Boynton Middle School

This elephant here
Was taken from his mother
Never got to roam free
And feel secure as elephants do with one another

Dreaming, hoping to find a way home
Away from his mom, it is so severe
Whips, chains and illegal logging
From a small soulful eye drops a swift tear

Shredded leg, what now?
Stepping on explosive mines
Standing on three feeling despair
It is only a matter of time

In his captivity a lady looks
Kids around him, he’s being teased
Runs and runs to fine Mahout
She thinks, can I buy him please?

She’s rescues him, finally free
Knowing where to take him
He follows her lead
To the elephant hospital, to a new limb

Eating with other elephants
Here he finds his mother
Walking, talking, catching up
A feeling like no other

There’s a devoted vet
He loves and cherishes her
Giving him a new hope in life
He wishes others fate were similar

Please tune in next week for the third poem…

-Windy Borman

Producer, Director and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

On February 15, 2010, Soraida Salwala, Founder of the FAE Elephant Hospital and featured in the elephant conservation documentary, The Eyes of Thailand, announced the successful birth of a new baby elephant:

A new baby was born at Mae Ping Camp in Chiang Mai last night. The baby weighs only 30 k.m. (same as Tiny). Dr. Preecha reached Pung Noi and her baby before noon. Preparation to transport both the mother and her male baby is being carefully carried out.

On February 16, 2010, Pung Kamnoi and her healthy baby boy arrived at FAE:

Dr. Preecha says the baby looks good. We have the soy milk ready in case his mother is not ready to feed him.

The first photos of the happy mother and baby appear below.

Kamnoi arrives at FAE by truck.

The staff at FAE encourage the wobbly newborn elephant to walk off the truck.

Kamnoi and her healthy baby boy.

Kamnoi and Baby Boy.

We are happy to see Kamnoi and her baby bonding and will share more news and photos as we get them.  Please stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Producer, Director and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

P.S. The Eyes of Thailand is currently fundraising to edit and distribute the film so we can tell the world about the plight of the Asian Elephants and share the great work that Soraida and her staff do at FAE.  To make a tax-deductible donation to the film, please visit our website and click “Donate Now“.  It will take you to the secure online donation page for our fiscal sponsor, The San Francisco Film Society. Thank you!

I did a big unit on elles in science for all 90 of my students and still weave in elles whenever I can, inducing my poetry reading class unit. That is where they wrote the elle poems… They have a lot of knowledge about elles now and of the many sanctuaries. I talk about why elles shouldn’t be in zoos and circuses, tourism, illegal forestry logging, street entertainment, etc., it was an extensive unit,  powerful, wonderful.   The kids are amazing and very passionate about the plight of elephants on this earth!  The children will change the world!!

Inspired by The Eyes of Thailand trailer, three students wrote poems about Thai elephants.  Below is the first poem:

It Will Come Soon, Hope

by Morgan Bell age 11 Ithaca, NY Boynton Middle School

Called Suste by her Mahout Master
Some stop in moment to take charity
She’s getting yelled at and urged on faster
Kindness in her world is a rarity

One single tear rolls down her wrinkled face
Covered with colors from head to toe
She dances for the waiting eye with grace
Oh No! A wrong step waiting for her foe

Scars from her mistake start to bother
She closes her eyes as he does the job
She wonders if there’s a soul who loves her
Left there about to break into a sob

She told herself not to look down and mope
But to look up, smile, it will soon come…hope!

Please tune in next week for the second poem…

-Windy Borman

Producer, Director and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand

Last week I found a link to an article about China’s ivory trade written by James Pomfret and Tom Kirkwood, dated November 9, 2009.  The authors write:

A passion for ivory ornaments such as these is what helped decimate African and Asian elephant populations until a 1989 ban on ivory trade. Today, China’s economic rise, and along with it a seemingly insatiable appetite for status symbols by its nouveau riche, has spurred demand for African ivory…

In a 2007 report, the U.N.-backed CITES, the global wildlife trade watchdog, said China faced a “major challenge” as it continues to be the “most important country globally as a destination for illicit ivory,” exacerbated in part by China’s spreading influence and ties in Africa.

Chinese nationals have been arrested and convicted for ivory smuggling in Africa and organized crime gangs are also involved in bringing large quantities of illicit ivory into China, according to the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency.

In a controversial bid to stem illegal poaching, CITES allowed a 62-tonne batch of elephant tusks to be imported legally into China last year. The ivory stockpiles were bought by Chinese traders at auctions.

At the time, Allan Thornton, of the Environmental Investigation Agency, expressed concern the sale would fuel a massive appetite for ivory in China. “In a country of 1.3 billion people, demand for ivory from just a fraction of one per cent of the population is colossal,” he told the Telegraph newspaper.

Ivory has been banned since 1989 after decades of poaching in which Africa’s elephant population was halved with only around 600,000 remaining by 1997, according to conservation groups.  Nonetheless, as the 20-year ban is about to expire, there is a growing sentiment within CITIES that, “The elephant as a species is no way in danger.”

“If the demand is supplied by legal origin ivory, then that should begin to close the doors for the criminals,” said John Sellar, a senior enforcement officer for CITES in Geneva.

He added the two-decade long ivory ban had helped stabilize overall elephant numbers, with only scattered local populations under any real serious threat from poachers in countries such as Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

While only around 4,000 wild tigers remain worldwide, he noted, in Botswana alone there are more than 130,000 wild elephants.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2203750#ixzz0eudfURBI

ElephantVoices wrote on its Facebook Page “Any sensible person would ask CITIES what is going to happen to Botswana’s elephant population once China finishes off of Central Africa?”

I would add: What will happen to Thailand’s elephants–or those of other Southeast Asian countries–if the ivory ban is lifted?

-Windy Borman

Producer, Director and Writer, The Eyes of Thailand