Thursday, June 17, 2010

No Peace For The Elephants




We usually have a few elephants around the house, because they are little Ella's favorite animal. So I stay on the alert for news in the elephant world. And there has been plenty in the last week. For starters, zookeepers have discovered that their elephants are too fat. I'm guessing there's no way you can tell this just by looking (wish the same was true for me) so they had to buy elephant scales that cost $5,000. They're now making their elephants diet and exercise. They are making the elephants do deep knee bends (I'm not kidding!). And the zookeepers are burying their food and hanging it up high so that the elephants really have to work to get it. It seems to me that the ones losing weight will be the zookeepers. In other late breaking elephant news, it's been said that elephants are afraid of mice, but what they are really scared of are bees. You heard me right, scared to death. They sound an alarm and run when bees are around. I can't figure this out, since you'd think they couldn't feel stings through their thick hide. Perhaps they are afraid the bees will fly up their trunks. An elephant with their trunk up is supposed to be good luck. That would be good luck for us, not the elephant, as bees could more easily fly up their snoot. In Africa, elephants can wipe out a family's crops overnight. So now they are thinking of making fences of bee hives to keep the elephants out. Diet, exercise, and bees. There's no peace for the poor elephants. But there can be for us. A peace that is not dependant on weight, diets, or bees, but that comes from inside.


"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27






15 comments:

Glenda said...

Oh, my goodness! Elephants being overweight has never crossed my mind! I agree with you that you can't tell by merely looking, but maybe their baggy skin fills out more and they lose their wrinkles?!

The Scripture you closed with is so comforting . . . and we can count on this promise no matter our annoyances or problems.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Poor Elephants.... Someone has to keep their food away from them... How sad!!!!!!

Love your Elephant news.... Maybe you could start a column in your local newspaper --telling about all of the Elephant News of the week!!!!! Ya think???? ha

Loved your connection with elephants to peace and our scripture.... Creative, my friend!
Hugs,
Betsy

Stephanie V said...

Two coincidences today. I read your elephant post just after a discussion about a toy elephant being a favorite of another little girl - she loved the sound the toy made.
And, two: I read the verse you quoted on a poster this morning at a church as I walked through.
It's as if you were reading my mind.

Regina said...

Hi Ginny..well I feel sorry for the elephants and hate to see what they have to endure in different countries as well! Funny about the bees though? I can't imagine the diet thing- only they must of come to this conclusion being they are confined? Reminds me of the incident with the group (remember the woman who was killed recently)..of killer whales who refused to finish there routeen. Anyway, the last part you ended with- so true..what a refuge! Funny, what you mentioned about blogging buddy..well, that's actually how I feel too you know. I hope I don't go too far with some of my posts (lol)..glad your here..I do feel you understand! It's like a needed outlet to just cut loose and bounce some silliness around and get deep too. that's why I say it's mutual.
Regina
btw..I'm not on my cell now and you can usually tell if you noticed caps or something in the wrong places. The good thing is I can check my spelling (I can't be way off though) hah

DawnTreader said...

I like those stuffed elephant toys. The white one seems a bit scared actually, either he has seen some bees or he's afraid to be put on a diet...

About the deep knee bends the elephants have my sympathy. I had to do some kneebending the other day when putting mats on my balcony floor. I always fear when getting down on the ground now that I won't be able to get up again...

SquirrelQueen said...

The little stuffed elephants are so cute, the white on looks like Horton.

I've never thought about elephants have to diet. I guess making them work harder to get to it is good however.

From the Kitchen said...

I can always count on your posts to brighten my morning and enlighten my mind. Overweight elephants? Who would have thought. Do elephants in the wild get overweight? Just wondering.

Best,
Bonnie

George said...

I didn't realize things were so bad in the elephant world. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Together We Save said...

Oh my ... fat elephants! Who knew!

MadSnapper said...

you did a fantastic post on much ado about elephants. EXERCISE? poor elephants. this sounds like a good idea to me since they have to hunt for and pull down there food in the wild. does OBESE fit and elephant, how would we know if no scales available. great post and adorable ellies on the sofa

Beverly said...

The only thing wrong with the top picture is that Ella is not in the middle. She is so crazy for animals, maybe she can be a vet when she grows up.

We're going to chat tonight by way of the computer. I can hardly wait to see what she has to say.

Glennis said...

Poor elephants, life was so sweet for them before the scales arrived.
hat does it matter if they are a tiny bit over weight as long as they are happy. Same applies to us humans as long as we are not actually obese!

Glennis said...

Poor elephants, life was so sweet for them before the scales arrived.
hat does it matter if they are a tiny bit over weight as long as they are happy. Same applies to us humans as long as we are not actually obese!
Nice scripture.

Remington said...

Hi Remington here! Thank you for stopping by my blog! Nice to meet you! The lady I live with named Beth told me that her mother used to collect elephants. Not real ones, just statues. When she past away she had 2500 of them. That's a lot! She REALLY like them!
I am going to follow you -- not right behind you, don't worry, just on blog land. We can check in on each other and I hope we can be great friends! I might not be on blog land much this weekend. I am going to be a Road Warrior! I am certain there will be a report next week. Later -- Rem

Dawning Inspiration said...

Love this!

Poor elephants!!

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