From Joe Giordano

alg_elephants, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Early Monday morning, 10 elephants, nine horses and two ponies will begin their long journey from a rail yard in Queens to Madison Square Garden as part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's 139th annual Animal Walk. But while that might not seem like a very long trek for Asian elephants, which walk 30 miles a day in the wild, make no mistake about it, the path to New York has been a long one for these pachyderms. Before an elephant can even attempt the Animal Walk, it must go through years of training. "These are some seasoned troopers who will be walking through the tunnel into New York," said Janice Aria, director of Animal Stewardship Training for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation. "We spend years desensitizing these animals and habituating them so that they can handle all these sites and sounds." Not all elephants, many of whom were born at the Circus' Florida conservation park, have the temperament to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans. Of the dozens of elephants who enter training, only a select few actually make the traveling team. And travel they do. In one year, these wandering pachyderms, ranging in age from 11 to 51 years old, cover an average of 16,000 miles and visit 40 North American cities. But at least they travel in style. They were to arrive in Queens on a mile-long train that consists of 59 cars — including 19 flatbed cars, 30 coach cars and one pie (restaurant) car. After midnight Monday, the elephants begin their venture into the Big Apple by way of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which will be closed to traffic. Like most New Yorkers, they're not about taking their sweet time. "The challenge for us is actually keeping up with the animals," said John Griggs, general manager of the red unit at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Circus. "When the elephants are walking, due to our perception, they look like they are going very slow, but in fact, they are actually walking double time for us. So everyone jogs to keep up." Accompanied by their handlers, the elephants walk in single file, using their snouts to grip the tails of the elephants in front of them. "They look like a group of kindergarteners walking down the street, holding hands," said Aria. "It's very magical. The tunnel is pretty quiet with that eerie echo effect. You hear the elephants snorting and the horses' hooves on the ground. But the big payoff is when you come out of that tunnel." Thousands of people gather at 35th St. and Second Ave. to cheer the animals as they exit the murky depths of the East River. With the New York Police Department acting as crowd control, the elephants head down to 34th St. before venturing west. "That's the most exciting moment of the year," said Griggs. "A herd of elephants walking in the middle of Manhattan just doesn't happen every day. People are going to get a closer look at our elephants than any zoo in America." There are no chains or whips on the Animal Walks. Elephants are good listeners. They know their names very well and can respond to almost 60 verbal commands. As the massive mammals trod across 34th St., their handlers constantly talk with them as a source of comfort. While safety is certainly an issue when walking elephants through Manhattan, in the 139-year history of the Animal Walk, the biggest issue has been the weather. Griggs remembers one year when it snowed. "The elephants didn't mind the snow at all," he said. "It is just nature to them. We have more problems with the people complaining about being wet and cold." The elephants will stay at Madison Square Garden for the duration of the circus' run in Manhattan. Then, on April 13, they'll pack up and head to Norfolk, Va., where the lights aren't quite as bright and the buildings not nearly as tall, but the hay tastes just as good.