Elephants rest well at night, thanks to work of Offutt airman

[Omaha Steve]

ELEPHANT AID INTERNATIONAL
“Chain-free means pain-free” is the motto of Elephant Aid International, which is replacing shackles with corrals where the animals can rest.

http://www.omaha.com/columnists/grace/grace-elephants-rest-well-at-night-thanks-to-work-of/article_c38715bc-2fdf-5ee1-8f32-fed75b9d5bab.html

POSTED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015 12:30 AM | UPDATED: 3:18 PM, WED OCT 21, 2015.
By Erin Grace / World-Herald columnist

Scott Bettencourt was tapped out, but there remained yet one more job on his last day volunteering in the jungle in Nepal.

The Offutt airman had been working alongside a dozen other volunteers who signed up to improve conditions for elephants there.

The 38-year-old had traveled thousands of miles, paid thousands of dollars and gotten a rare month off duty. He had done this to build corrals in triple-digit heat and humidity at Chitwan National Park for the sole purpose of giving elephants room to roam after the animals’ patrol “shifts” ended at night.

By day, the handlers ride the elephants to look for poachers and other problems. At night, the animals return to chain posts where they can hardly move. Scott volunteered for a U.S.-based charity that is building fenced-in areas to get the animals off chains.

FULL story at link.


ELEPHANT AID INTERNATIONAL

"Chain-free means pain-free” is the motto of Elephant Aid International, which is replacing shackles with corrals where the animals can rest.