|
|
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Contributors
Recent Comments
Retirement Fund
Favorite Links
- Circus Historical Society
- Circus News
- Circus Fans Association of America
- Showfolks of Sarasota
- Arkansas Elephant Sanctuary
- Jim's "All My Days are Circus Days"
- Pat Cashin's Clown Alley
- Bill Strong's Yesterday's Towns
- Circus Links
- Circus Model Builders
- Magic Gallery
- Tim Perkins Blog
- Trumble's Carson & Barnes Blog
- Dick Dykes
- Wade G Burck
- Chuck Mayo
- The Circus Blog
- Jackie LeClaire
Subscribe
Blog Archive
- March 2023 (15)
- February 2022 (5)
- November 2021 (33)
- October 2021 (3)
- September 2021 (61)
- August 2021 (37)
- May 2021 (39)
- April 2021 (10)
- March 2021 (17)
- February 2021 (103)
- January 2021 (137)
- December 2020 (21)
- November 2020 (76)
- October 2020 (151)
- September 2020 (73)
- August 2020 (65)
- July 2020 (181)
- June 2020 (174)
- May 2020 (225)
- April 2020 (181)
- March 2020 (124)
- February 2020 (221)
- December 2019 (36)
- November 2019 (77)
- October 2019 (166)
- September 2019 (146)
- August 2019 (62)
- July 2019 (250)
- June 2019 (238)
- May 2019 (311)
- April 2019 (355)
- March 2019 (367)
- February 2019 (313)
- January 2019 (373)
- December 2018 (377)
- November 2018 (348)
- October 2018 (378)
- September 2018 (381)
- August 2018 (542)
- July 2018 (514)
- June 2018 (153)
- May 2018 (4)
- April 2018 (3)
- March 2018 (110)
- February 2018 (296)
- January 2018 (590)
- December 2017 (569)
- November 2017 (587)
- October 2017 (565)
- September 2017 (405)
- August 2017 (509)
- July 2017 (575)
- June 2017 (558)
- May 2017 (653)
- April 2017 (562)
- March 2017 (507)
- February 2017 (451)
- January 2017 (516)
- December 2016 (367)
- November 2016 (479)
- October 2016 (449)
- September 2016 (517)
- August 2016 (427)
- July 2016 (400)
- June 2016 (360)
- May 2016 (272)
- April 2016 (374)
- March 2016 (481)
- February 2016 (405)
- January 2016 (429)
- December 2015 (240)
- November 2015 (381)
- October 2015 (477)
- September 2015 (461)
- August 2015 (427)
- July 2015 (463)
- June 2015 (421)
- May 2015 (350)
- April 2015 (416)
- March 2015 (467)
- February 2015 (441)
- January 2015 (460)
- December 2014 (408)
- November 2014 (379)
- October 2014 (416)
- September 2014 (378)
- August 2014 (413)
- July 2014 (414)
- June 2014 (482)
- May 2014 (429)
- April 2014 (367)
- March 2014 (458)
- February 2014 (406)
- January 2014 (390)
- December 2013 (508)
- November 2013 (353)
- October 2013 (423)
- September 2013 (468)
- August 2013 (536)
- July 2013 (490)
- June 2013 (447)
- May 2013 (411)
- April 2013 (401)
- March 2013 (407)
- February 2013 (372)
- January 2013 (432)
- December 2012 (413)
- November 2012 (388)
- October 2012 (398)
- September 2012 (376)
- August 2012 (387)
- July 2012 (382)
- June 2012 (351)
- May 2012 (356)
- April 2012 (367)
- March 2012 (351)
- February 2012 (336)
- January 2012 (410)
- December 2011 (393)
- November 2011 (283)
- October 2011 (333)
- September 2011 (363)
- August 2011 (356)
- July 2011 (336)
- June 2011 (363)
- May 2011 (351)
- April 2011 (324)
- March 2011 (327)
- February 2011 (253)
- January 2011 (368)
- December 2010 (359)
- November 2010 (315)
- October 2010 (342)
- September 2010 (345)
- August 2010 (352)
- July 2010 (344)
- June 2010 (335)
- May 2010 (338)
- April 2010 (321)
- March 2010 (369)
- February 2010 (318)
- January 2010 (338)
- December 2009 (358)
- November 2009 (338)
- October 2009 (354)
- September 2009 (368)
- August 2009 (354)
- July 2009 (401)
- June 2009 (403)
- May 2009 (375)
- April 2009 (346)
- March 2009 (406)
- February 2009 (341)
- January 2009 (353)
- December 2008 (351)
- November 2008 (362)
- October 2008 (391)
- September 2008 (375)
- August 2008 (382)
- July 2008 (324)
- June 2008 (349)
- May 2008 (375)
- April 2008 (383)
- March 2008 (369)
- February 2008 (426)
- January 2008 (457)
- December 2007 (360)
- November 2007 (369)
- October 2007 (359)
- September 2007 (361)
- August 2007 (370)
- July 2007 (341)
- June 2007 (307)
- May 2007 (298)
- April 2007 (391)
- March 2007 (374)
- February 2007 (326)
- January 2007 (385)
- December 2006 (343)
- November 2006 (252)
- October 2006 (213)
- September 2006 (174)
- August 2006 (180)
- July 2006 (176)
- June 2006 (155)
- May 2006 (178)
- April 2006 (170)
- March 2006 (149)
- February 2006 (134)
- January 2006 (154)
- December 2005 (135)
- November 2005 (137)
- October 2005 (113)
- September 2005 (100)
- August 2005 (102)
- July 2005 (103)
- June 2005 (43)
26 comments:
2 up and 4 down. Is this good training or not training enough?
Bob Kitto
A good example of the number of elephants from across the water with "paralized beaks". Seems like more than we had in this country. Wonder why? I believe if they could have "trunked up" the great trainer, Mr. Gindle, would have had them doing just that. I note that he also trained great "liberty horses" and Zebras, etc.
Johnny,
What causes a "paralyzed beak?" And why point out the ones across the water? There are a load of those "beaks" right here in the good old USA.
Regards,
Wade Burck
Col. they also seem to be prolapsed.....at least the one on the veiwers left....and by the way they are standing..I will assume they all are...Yet I remember seeing a Photo with you and 3 punks a few weeks ago...not all were trunked up....was that due to the photographers timing...or were they paralized also??...The reason I am pointing this out is so Folks don't assume they are paralized by only seeing them in a photo with there trunks not up...When one looks at a Elephant photo a educated eye will see more....Jim Zajicek P.S. I believe the trunks worked fine on the punks..I assume they were sniffin the jelly-beans in your pocket......
Jim Zijcek,
Excellent. I was wondering when the prolapse was going to be pointed out, once the trunks were, and someone with your "limited knowledge" saw it. Or wanted to see it. Well done. Notice the sides on the elephant on the end. Did you ever see another one with ribs that bulged like that?
I watched a trainer I admire very much, retire a stiff legged elephant, with a tear in his eye, and the vow, "I will never teach an elephant to do a teeterboard again. That kind of integrity is awful rare. How important is experience. The training of the behavior, or knowing the end result years later, and not training it.
Wade Burck
Johnny or Buckles,
You've both been around awhile, and are probably more qualified then any of us to address this. What causes a "paralyzed beak/trunk?" Hawthorns big five act had two out of the five exhibiting the behavior, and I believe they made one trip across the water.
I have noted it more in elephants from one "particular" country, so it might be "regional."
I have always been of the opinion that this comes from a vitamin deficiency. Elephants with mud shows that move from town to town seven days a week have the fewest number with this malady since they get ample grazing, including the dirt, at a variety of locations.
Elephants that stand on boards most of their lives are denied this and appear to show a higher number of weak trunks.
Buckles,
Excellent. Your observation of "boards" also point to the island nation, not Europe, where the malady is most prevalent, but doesn't address concrete floors of coliseums.
The vitamin deficiency can be reversed, if done soon enough, but as you noted mud show elephants can still have it. Will "trauma" to the weakened muscle turn it into a permanent disfigurement, as has been noted in studies.
Thank you,
Wade Burck
Elephants with "limited" Beaks when Vitamin E is added to their diet can sometimes gain more movement....I too believe lack of vitamins is the main cause...Jim Zajicek (Limited Myself)
Jim Z,
Does a vitamin deficiency also cause the "prolapse" that you noted or the bulging sides?
Wade Burck
Being unfamiliar with the word "prolapse" I will conclude by saying, "Behold the elephant! Big ears, Big feet, Tail on both ends".
Which is about the extent of my anatomic knowledge.
Oops! I now see that the question was directed to a different scholar.
Wade....What makes you think the bulging sides tipped me off????......Jim Zajicek
Buckles, I would hardly consider myself a Scholar....My anatomy Expertise..is limited to "Does it have "2-Heads or extra Legs?" after that qute frankly...I make it up on the Fly.......Jim Zajicek
Obviously..I walked into the wrong room....I will now use the lessons I learned at Professor Ridge's School of Dance...and do a soft shoe back over to the "Truck and Trailer" section....Jim Zajicek
Buckles and Jim Z.,
I would have used "rupture", but I stayed with "prolapse" as it was Jim Z's word. Prolapses tend to be used in reference to a uterus, after a birth.
Jim Z. assuming that the elephant had not given birth, again was it a vitamin deficiency that caused the same "malady" as the "beak deal?" Or the ribs?
Wade Burck
Vitamin deficiency? Larger herds indoors, small herds on mudshows?
I obviously walked into the wrong class room as well Zych, here wanna check out the latest issue of National Enquirer chock full of the same kinda facts.....
Buckles and John Herriott,
Let me try to run this again, as John Herriot raised the issue initially.
Pairs or a herd of elephants stabled on the same substrate for their whole lives, display the malady, and the one they stood beside their whole life does not? It may be a "behavioral affliction", as it has been noted in studies that a large percentage of elephants with "paralyzed beaks" display or have displayed adverse behavior, such as running, unwillingness, slugging, attacking.
Wade Burck
I'll turn it over to the Colonel. I lost this one at "behavioral affliction".
Wade, Amodern study of your question can be made using two Ringling elephants. Rebecca and Zina, both from Billy Smart in England. Zina is totlly paralyzed and at the CEC now. Does anyone know the status of Rebecca?
Our elephant Jean can't curl her trunk but everything else works fine. I had a guy tell me she was being lazy or the muscles weren't worked properly. I told him that both these cows lift logs and various other things around the park for the maintenance and tree dept., what's any better excercise than that buddy!
I recall long ago asking Smokey Jones about photos of circus elephants wearing thick leather pads over the front of their head and upper trunk. (I have I have sometimes seen similar photos on this blog.)
He said it was to protect the elephants when pushing very heavy circus wagons that had bolts or other metal knobs protruding from the rear. He said that without the pads the elephants would eventually wind up with paralyzed trunks.
As I have never seen these pads in person, (or even know what they were called), how about some comments from someone who has remove a wagon or two from deep mud?
Don Bloomer
Another possibility for trunk lameness MAY be metal intoxication.
Some water pipes, early in the morning, may contain rather a lot of metal, due to the fact that the water can be below zero pH, when water "sucks up" metals. (compare the sexties when a lot of people got metal poisoning from aluminuim jars with sour orange juice).
If, by bad luck, an elephant gets enough of metal, theres a tendency that it moves out to a muscle which is heavily used, and it may permanently damage that muscle.
Nowdays, I often messure the pH of water for every new elephant location. IF the pH is below zero, then I try to messure the level of metals.
In any case, its vise to let the water run some time, before letting the elephants drink, I think, in order to avoid the risk that you feed water which has been in the pipes over the night.
//Dan Koehl
Joey,
Is Jean the elephant whose picture was posted a short while back, as an example of what was going to be used in a photo exhibition of elephants? It was just a head shot.
Regards,
Wade Burck
P. S. Billy Smarts means you are narrowing it down, and getting out of Europe
Zina, had a foot problem way back then but got over it.
Wade, yes that was Jean. As I said she can't curl it but she can keep the end turned up. Zina by comparison, all she could move when I was around her was the very tip. She was watered with a hose in the mouth and she had a good aim at tossing food straight up and catching it in her mouth.
I remember quite a few of the Billy Smart elephants that Hugo handed over to Buckles having the trunk problem. Monja, Tagu, Mudo,Joan, Christine but Rebecca and Zina were fine back then?
Post a Comment