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Elephants – yes there are elephants in Maine! Hope Elephants that is – Rosie, 43, and Opal, 41.  Rosie and Opal are retired circus elephants and both had been living at an Elephant Sanctuary in Oklahoma before they moved to Maine in October, 2012. The goal of Hope Elephants is to introduce people to elephants in a way you never have seen them before and to understand what each of us can do in our own lives to help elephants and other animals to thrive with their shrinking natural habitat. This is not a petting zoo. You do not get to touch the elephants and they will not be performing per se.  Instead you will learn what intelligent, compassionate and emotional animals elephants are from a person that is equally as passionate about them as they are about him.

Almost four years ago, Jim and his brother decided to try to bring Rosie to Maine to be able to provide state of the art medical care for her in her golden years. Both elephants have medical issues and were not “thriving” in their current environment. Jim Laurita, a Cornell graduated veterinary, had met both of the “girls” when he and his brother were involved with the circus in the 1970s.  His working with Rosie in particular triggered a compassion for elephants that shaped his career.  He worked with elephants at the Bronx zoo, as an elephant trainer in Oregon and a researcher of elephants in India.  It took years to get permitted by the federal, state and local governments; tons of money to build the elephant sanctuary that now sits in Hope Maine and much more money to continue with their daily care.  All the while many national animal rights groups protested that it was cruel to consider bringing elephants to Maine.

After about nine months of being in Maine, both Rosie and Opal have both put on about 300-400 pounds.  Rosie whose trunk had nerve damage, rendering it partially paralyzed is now able to lift her trunk to her knees to be better able to feed herself.  Both Rosie and Opal who suffer degenerative joint and limb pain that made them both shuffle stiff-legged when they first arrived can now move more easily. They receive daily medical and nutritional care and play time in their new home.  They play with the ball, they play games with Jim and they act much like human sisters do with each other.

So when you want to take a break from lobsters and moose, check out Maine’s newest animal icons – Hope Elephants.