PRINCE: Day 2, Introduction To Outdoor Yard & Pool

July 2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of Prince's arrival at PAWS' 2,300-acre ARK 2000 sanctuary in Northern California. The feature article in our July 2021 newsletter is a tribute to this wonderful elephant. You can read it here: 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 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. It shows his barn and the small outdoor yard that leads to his big habitat which cannot be seen in this video. (We added music to this video because the wind was blowing so hard that day that all you could hear on the video was what sounded like a freight train. No nature sounds, no elephant sounds and unbearable to listen to. But it was Prince's first day out, so we added the music rather than scrapping the video.)
After slowly introducing him to his new home, and allowing him to get used to these unfamiliar surroundings, Prince was finally introduced to the large habitat. He now has 24/7 access to his barn, small yard and large outdoor habitat at our sanctuary. 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, the other is on the back side of his habitat. He can usually be found napping on the side of a hill.
THIS VIDEO:
Prince stayed inside his barn on the night of his arrival at PAWS' ARK 2000. This allowed him to relax and adapt to his new surroundings. After walking about, eating and drinking and inspecting everything, he laid down on a mound of dirt and fell asleep.
The next morning Prince was ready to take his first steps outside. PAWS' co-founders Ed Stewart and the late Pat Derby coaxed him out of his barn by tossing treats in front of him (bananas seemed to be his favorite). He moved about cautiously, ate grass, drank water, looked at the pool, but did not go in at first. He did come back to the pool later in the morning and went for his first swim.
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 our 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.