PAWS elephants celebrate 10 year anniversary
The Performing Animal Welfare Society is more than just an organization that offers basic care to its exotic species; it is a sanctuary these animals can call home.
Two of their elephants, Nicholas and Gypsy, are celebrating 10 years of residency with PAWS this month.
PAWS is a rescue community which offers comfort to exotic animals that have suffered from hostile conditions in the performing animal trade.
Both Nicholas and Gypsy are Asian elephants that once belonged to the Hawthorn Corporation, which used to train and lease elephants for the circus industry.
Nicholas was born and raised at Hawthorn, but was deeply affected when they took his mother away at only 2 years old, PAWS said in a press release.
After mistreatment for three more years due to extreme circus demands, Nicholas was sent into isolation because
of his uncontrollable hormones, until PAWS intervened, the organization said.
Nicholas met Gypsy when they were placed in the same barn stall, and that is how she became his surrogate mother. Gypsy performed in the circus for many years, and is much older — which is why she became the perfect mother-figure for maturing Nicholas.
PAWS rescued the two from captivity in 2007. They lived in the Galt location until being relocated to the ARK
2000 sanctuary up in the San Andreas foothills. Here the two roam wild and free — within the ARK’s boundaries — while enjoying the nearby companionship of one another.
The bond that Nicholas and Gypsy share is made evident in their social ties, as they eat, play, and wonder the grounds together, PAWS said.
In honor of Nicholas and Gypsy’s devoted 10 years at PAWS, one-year symbolic adoptions or donations can be made to either of the two elephants — or perhaps both.