News 2005

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	Click here to donate. If you use "Click and Pledge" to name a Baby Elephant, please give us important additional information in the Click & Pledge Comments and Notes box and then by forwarding the Click & Pledge confirmation email to us at info©elephanttrust.org. Do give us at least three variations for the name you have chosen for the baby elephant as many names have already been chosen. If you wish, you can also share with us your loved one's relation to you for our records. If you choose not to forward the Click & Pledge confirmation email, then please send us a separate email with your name, address, Click & Pledge Order Number (the 15-digit number in the confirmation email) and the name you have chosen. You will then soon hear from Cynthia Moss personally with news about the baby and its family or to communicate with you about the choice of name. Thank you very much for your generous support.
	Amboseli National Park Abolished and Given to the Maasai Kenya ’s Minister of Tourism and Wildlife on Thursday afternoon, September 29, signed a decree which officially de-gazetted Amboseli National Park and turned it over to the Olkejuado County Council to be run as a National Reserve. In effect this means that all gate receipts and other revenue will now go to the County Council instead of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) which runs the National Parks. The rules and regulations for Reserves are more flexible regarding human activities within the boundaries, whereas conservation and tourism are supposed to be the only activities within National Parks. This declaration came as a complete surprise to nearly everyone including all of us at the Elephant Trust and even to the Kenya Wildlife Service. There are mixed reports on whether or not KWS will stay on to administer the Reserve. We await developments with great interest because there are many possible repercussions for the conservation of the Amboseli elephants. ( Click here for the PDF on the complete story ...)
	The third in a series of films about the beautiful Amboseli matriarch Echo and her family will be shown on the Discovery Channel at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 22. Cynthia Moss and cameraman Martyn Colbeck have been documenting the lives of this family for 14 years. The first film, "Echo of the Elephants" was broadcast in 1992; the second film, "Echo of the Elephants: The Next Generation" was shown in 1995. This latest film, called "Echo of the Elephants: The Last Chapter?" catches up with the family after a gap of seven years. As with the first two films, never-before-filmed behaviour is included, and our understanding of these fascinating and complex animals is enhanced. Please check your local listing to confirm. (Discovery Channel)
	Celebrating Elephants at the Oakland Zoo: Now in its 9th year, Celebrating Elephants Day, is a family oriented event with plenty of fun for the whole herd. ( Event photos ) Celebrating Elephants Lecture and Silent Auction ( Event Photos )

Name Echo's New Daughter

One of Elephant Trust's partner organization, the Born Free Foundation in the UK, is sponsoring a competition to name Echo's new calf. All proceeds will go to the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. To learn more about how to enter, please go to their website: http://www.bornfree.org.uk/echo/index.shtml

**NEWS FLASH**

Echo, the star of the documentary films, "Echo of the Elephants" and "Echo of the Elephants: the Next Generation", gave birth to a new calf on January 12. This grand matriarch is 55-60 years old, probably closer to 60, and so she is one of the oldest females in the population to continue to breed.

The latest film in the series, "Echo of the Elephants: the Last Chapter" will be broadcast in the UK on January 19 and 23, and later in the year in the US on the Discovery Channel. In this film Echo is seen being mated by Ed, a big male in musth. Sadly he was killed the following year. Back in March 2003, cameraman Martyn Colbeck and I watched and filmed Echo in oestrus. On the first day she was pursued by young males, but on the second and third days she went into a consort relationship with Ed who was in all his glory. Now 22 months later she's given birth to Ed's daughter. At least his robust genes are carrying on.

Females can give birth well into their 50s but some females stop breeding. Of the 20 big, old Amboseli females who are over 55, only five have stopped reproduction.

This new calf is Echo's eighth on record. When I first met her in 1974 she had a calf with her who was about five years old. This was her daughter Erin who was estimated to be born in 1969. Echo went on to give birth to seven more calves: in 1976 (Eamon who died of unknown causes when he was nine), 1982 (Enid), 1985 (Eliot), 1990 (Ely), 1994 (Ebony), 2000 (Emily Kate) and 2005 (the new calf). She probably gave birth to one or two calves before 1974 but it appears that neither of them lived. In all I estimate she's had 10 calves.

Although conditions in Amboseli are not good, because of a drought, Echo's family, the EBs, seem to be doing well. Echo's daughter Enid gave birth to a calf, also a female, about a week ago. The two calves are sticking close together. They will have a lot of fun together as they grow up. Last year two more females gave birth, Eleanor and Edwina. With these births and only two deaths, the family now numbers 29.

HOW TO HELP ECHO AND HER FAMILY

You can support Echo and her family--and the other elephants in Amboseli National Park--by donating to the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE). Your gift will help us continue our monitoring program, which provides essential baseline data about each elephant family in the Park; our community relations program, which diffuses human-elephant conflict; and our scouts program, which helps stop poaching in and around the Park.

Please make checks payable to Amboseli Trust for Elephants and mail to 10 State Street, Newburyport, Ma. 01950. You can also donate via credit card through this web site. Your donation is fully tax-deductible.

We are happy to announce that you can now donate to AERP/AERP using "Click and Pledge." Thank you for your continuing support!"

The first two videos in the Echo series can be purchased from WNET/Nature by phoning 800-336-1917.

Don't forget to sign up for our list-serve to receive ongoing information about our work! Thank you for your help!

Name Echo's New Daughter
One of Elephant Trust's partner organization, the Born Free Foundation in the UK, is sponsoring a competition to name Echo's new calf. All proceeds will go to the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. To learn more about how to enter, please go to their website: www.bornfree.org.uk

For over two years we have been looking for a ‘corporate’ logo image for our several manifestations, namely, the Amboseli Elephant Trust (both the USA and Kenya branches), the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (the elephant endowment fund for the future) and the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. At last we believe we have it. Read on...

Cynthia Moss Addresses Wildlife Conservation "Expo"

On October 17, Cynthia Moss joined other noted conservationists from around the world for the 2004 Wildlife Conservation Expo held by the Wildlife Conservation Network.

The message of the Expo stressed, “community-based conservation is the key to saving endangered species around the globe. Without community buy-in, the conflict that arises between man and wildlife will continue to result in the loss of animal populations who face extinction as growing human populations encroach on their natural habitat.”

In her well-attended presentation, Cynthia shared the intimacies of the social organization of the Amboseli elephants and outlined the precariousness of their future in the face of the needs and aspirations of the surrounding Maasai community.

The two other major speakers were Isabella Rossellini, international actress, model and Amboseli Trust for Elephants and WCN board member and Dr. Cheryl Knott of the Gunung Palung Orangutan Project. Other conservation groups represented included: Painted Dog Conservation Project, Andean Cat Alliance, Cheetah Conservation Botswana, Cheetah Conservation Fund, Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program, Save the Elephants, Snow Leopard Conservancy, Small Cat Conservation Alliance and the Okapi Conservation Project.

Guardian Award for Cynthia Moss

On 30 October Dr. Cynthia Moss was among the handful of honorees who received the prestigious Guardian Award, presented annually by In Defence of Animals in Los Angeles. What is a Guardian Award? Here’s what IDA Founder and President Dr. Elliot M. Katz had to say at the first awards ceremony:

“A critically important paradigm shift is occurring ... in how we humans perceive and relate to the animals we share our lives and planet with. An ever-growing number of citizens, humane societies, animal protection organizations and legislators are replacing the language of ownership with that of guardianship...”

“The Guardian Awards were created to speed this shift in perception and consciousness by defining and acknowledging people who, through their courage, conscience and compassion serve as role models for present and future generations.

“From Broadway to Hollywood, from the shores of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa to the United Nations, from the legislative boardrooms of San Francisco to the mean streets of St. Louis, to a one-of-a-kind animal shelter deep in the heart of Texas, our honorees are sending a powerful message that animals are more than mere objects, commodities, property or things.

“Through their words and deeds our honorees stir this new consciousness in our relationship with other species. These very special people, through their courage and conviction, have broken down interspecies barriers.

“Our honorees’ work demonstrates again and again that animals deserve to be treated responsibly with respect and compassion, that our animal friends are not immune to pain and suffering, that they are intelligent, sensitive beings worthy of being accorded their own interests, rights and needs.”

At the ceremony and reception Cynthia was in the glittering Hollywood company of Kim Basinger, Pierce Brosnan, Peter Falk, Gretchen Wyler, Steve Valentine, Stockard Channing, Grant Aleksander, Cathy Gentile-Moriarty, Dan Piraro, Ali McGraw, Lester Chambers, Tippi Hedren, Randy Grim and Quentin the Wonder Dog.

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