65. Elephants in Captivity: Ulara Nakagawa
from For Animals For Earth - Simple ideas to make a difference Hosted by Brandy Heyde Montague
Ulara Nakagawa of Elephants in Japan taught me today about elephants in captivity. She specifically focuses on helping elephants who are in solitary captivity in Japan, but her organization teaches about elephant welfare all over the world. She shared a helpful analogy: An elephant, in captivity alone, in a small concrete zoo, is like a human being, being locked into a bathroom, not being allowed to talk to anyone, and being kept there for 60+ years. It puts it into perspective, doesn’t it? Elephants are increasingly known as sensitive, smart, and compassionate beings who need significant stimulation and space to roam. They show signs of stress through deeply repetitive coping behaviors such as bobbing, walking back and forth, or flipping over the same toy in the same way, again and again. Ulara’s investigations have not only uncovered torturous conditions in zoos in Japan but ways to make things better in the short term, midterm, and long term for each elephant. Her findings pertain to elephants in captivity everywhere, and we can all read, learn and spread the word around us. SIMPLE IDEA: Read the Solitary Elephants in Japan report on the Elephants in Japan website. Then funnel our emotions into a tiny action to help elephants in captivity. I've rounded up tons of ideas in the show notes and linked to the report there. SHOW NOTES: https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/podcast/65
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