You can learn more about the Center for Elephant Conservation at www.elephantcenter.com/ (Feld Entertainment).

Information about the animals used in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus can be found at www.ringling.com/animals/ (Feld Entertainment).

Information about Asian elephant conservation is available at natzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/
ConservationGIS/projects/asian_elephants/ (Smithsonian National Zoological Park).

For the viewpoint of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on circus animals, see www.circuses.com/ (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Endangered Species/Asian Elephant
www.worldwildlife.org/species/
World Wildlife Fund

Books recommended by SearchIt!Science:

In the Forest with the Elephants — Roland Smith, Michael J. Schmidt Published by Gulliver Books/Harcourt, 1998. As the human population has increased, many forests have been cut down or damaged. This has caused the Asian elephant population to decline to about 35,000 animals. Ten thousand of these endangered elephants live in the small country of Myanmar, which is located in Southeast Asia. This amazing story recounts the partnership between the elephants and the people of the Myanmar forests. The local workers, named oozies, teach the elephants simple commands that enables the animals to help move logs. Color photographs and interesting text take you along on this extraordinary tale.

The Elephant Hospital — Kathy Darling Published by Millbrook Press, 2002. If your elephant is sick or about to give birth, where would you take it? The elephant hospital would be a good choice. In 1994, veterinarians and volunteers came together to create the world's first elephant hospital in Lampang, Thailand. At the hospital, vets deliver giant elephant babies, give first aid to injured elephants, help drug-addicted elephants go through detoxification, and rehabilitate elephants to live in the wild. Filled with full-color photographs that illustrate the veterinarians and elephants in action, this intriguing book tells the stories of several different injured or sick elephants, describing with concrete examples some of the problems Asian elephants face while showing the work that is being done to conserve the endangered creatures.

Travels With Tarra — Carol Buckley Published by Tilbury House Publishers, 2002. Meet Tarra and the human who has trained and cared for her for 28 years. When Tarra was younger, she was famous because she was the world's only roller-skating elephant! She was a highlight of circuses and made many appearances on talk shows. She started to get older, so her friend Carol Buckley needed to find a safe retirement place for her. When she couldn’t find one, Buckley started the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Black and white photographs show Tarra when she was a baby, when she worked for the circus. There are even pictures of her on her famous roller skates!

fertilization The process in which a female sex cell and a male sex cell join together to produce a new organism. In mammals, fertilization takes place inside the body of the female. In fish, eggs are fertilized in the water.

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