Sadly, August is coming to a close and with it, Elephant Awareness Month. :( However, I am very excited to share my review of The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson with you all! I really, really enjoyed this book. I was a little nervous about choosing a fictional story about elephants for my Elephant Awareness Month pick, but it turned out to be so wonderful - heartbreaking, but wonderful. I'm not going to spoil anything about this book in this review so if you're hoping to read it you can read this review safely!
Synopsis The Elephant Keeper is about a stable boy named Tom. Set in the 1700s, Tom's rich employer buys two elephants in the exotic animal trade. Tom is charged with caring for these two elephants, despite the fact that no one in Europe has really studied these animals in any capacity. Throughout his time caring for these two elephants, he creates a history of elephants from his own observations and develops a magnificent relationship with both of these creatures.
Review
This book, as I said, was wonderful, yet sometimes painful to read as an animal lover. As much as I hate to know that the exotic animal trade was as wide spread as it was for hundreds of years, it is needed to be recognized in order be invested in this story. And you do get very invested in this story and the characters that are in it (mainly, Tom and the two elephants which Tom names Timothy and Jenny). There are turns in this story that leave a sinking pit in your stomach and your heart in pieces (may or may not be tearing up just thinking about the story!) which really makes it a great story.
As a heads up - there is a scene involving sexual assault in this book and the repercussions of this assault are quite severe. I did not see this coming at all which was an interesting curve ball, but I believe it was handled well for the time period that it is set in.
The chapter structure of this book is a bit strange - the first third of this book is the History of the Elephant, and then the rest of the book is Tom's journal, which was a very strange choice, I thought. I think that if this book was structured a bit better it would have really enhanced an already great story, and it leaves me wondering about the true potential of this book overall. I think that the plot and story was enough to save the book despite its structure, but if other books were structured in a similar fashion I don't think they would do quite as well.
Overall, I thought this story was so lovely and was written in a language that I connected with easily but did not make me fall out of the time period it was set in. I think Nicholson did a really nice job with this book and I would love to hear what his process was in researching for it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of animals, is interested in stories regarding the understanding of exotic (for the time period) animals, with sprinkles of the human story scattered throughout.
We are already somehow halfway through August and I've been loving immersing myself in elephant videos, books, charities, and just overall awesomeness - I hope you all have been as well! Today I'm going to share a small handful of elephant facts and videos so we can all learn a little bit about these amazing animals and also bask in how adorable they are!
FACT #1
Elephants love the water and are actually very skilled swimmers! Seeing videos of elephants swimming and playing in water is always such a joy for me. Their happiness is so apparent when you see them splashing around! Here's an adorable video of two Asian elephants bathing in Cambodia:
FACT #2
Elephants express emotion similar to humans and can come very attached to the elephants in their herd. They can express distress, happiness, and they even cry. They can remember and mourn lost loved ones many years after their death, and they can remember elephants and even people if they are reunited with them after many years. Daphne Sheldrick (of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust) has many stories of reuniting with elephants after they return to the wild and it is so heartwarming! Here's a little behind the scenes video of the DSWT Nursery:
FACT #3
Elephants can feed up to 16 hours a day and can consume up to 600lbs of food! That is super epic and makes me feel like Ron Burgundy commending Baxter on eating a whole wheel of cheese in Anchorman. The DSWT posts videos of feeding time for their elephants all the time, and some of the older elephants even know how to hold bottles with the trunks and feed themselves - SO CUTE! Click play on the next video to see!
And then, just for fun and because Elephant Awareness Month is the best day ever, here is an adorable video of a little baby elephant playing with birds. It almost makes you want to cry of happiness! I hope you all are enjoying these elephant posts and I will be sharing more with you over on my YouTube channel next week! <3
August is the month where we can celebrate these beautiful creatures, learn more about them, what we can do to enhance their conservation, understand the struggles that this species has faced over the years, and just overall know what we can do to ensure their place on the planet. I'm so excited to celebrate this month for the second year now here on the blog and over on my YouTube channel and I hope you will join me in raising awareness of the need for conservation for elephants! If you'd like to know more information about how you can get involved, check out World Elephant Day online. I always have a link to their page on my blog under the "Community" section of my sidebar - just click the button with the elephant! :)
Like last year, I wanted to select a book to read through August that has elephants as its central focus so I can learn a bit more about them. Last year I selected Love, Life, and Elephants by Dame Daphne Sheldrick (review can be found here) which was an excellent memoir of her time raising orphaned animals in Kenya with her husband David (founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust). This year I decided to go with The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson - a fictional novel set in 18th century England about a boy who cares for elephants and learns form relationships and communicate with them.
"England, 1766: After a long voyage from the East Indies, a ship docks in Bristol, England, and rumor quickly spreads about its unusual cargo—some say a mermaid is on board. A crowd forms, hoping to catch a glimpse of the magical creature. One crate after another is unpacked: a zebra, a leopard, and a baboon. There's no mermaid, but in the final two crates is something almost as magical—a pair of young elephants, in poor health but alive.
Seeing a unique opportunity, a wealthy sugar merchant purchases the elephants for his country estate and turns their care over to a young stable boy, Tom Page. Tom's family has long cared for horses, but an elephant is something different altogether. It takes time for Tom and the elephants to understand one another, but to the surprise of everyone on the estate, a remarkable bond is formed.
The Elephant Keeper, the story of Tom and the elephants, in Tom's own words, moves from the green fields and woods of the English countryside to the dark streets and alleys of late-eighteenth-century London, reflecting both the beauty and the violence of the age. Nicholson's lush writing and deft storytelling complement a captivating tale of love and loyalty between one man and the two elephants that change the lives of all who meet them."
I've already started reading this book and I am really enjoying it so far. I'm excited to hear more about Tom's story, and I'm pretty sure this book will probably make me sob by the end. I will be reviewing this title at the end of the month, but I would love to have you all read along with me (it's currently $1.99 for the Kindle edition)! Let me know if you've read this book or if you'll be reading along with me this month in the comments!
Summer is flyyyyying by (as it does every year) and it's making me super anxious to know that in a matter of weeks we will be back in the thick of yet another academic year. (Which always makes me wonder - how do people who don't work in a school system think about the year? I still think of the year running September-August, as I have since I was 5 years old.) But coming towards the end of the summer means coming up onAugust, aka ELEPHANT AWARENESS MONTH! I'm going to be doing a few Elephant themed posts throughout the month on both my blog and YouTube channel, and I thought to kick off the excitement with my posting schedule so you don't miss out on anything!
(Blog) Elephant Awareness Month Book Club Selection
Friday, August 12th- World Elephant Day!
(YouTube) Three Awesome Elephant Conservation Organizations
Tuesday, August 16th
(Blog) My Favorite Elephant Videos & Facts
Friday, August 26th
(YouTube) My Elephant Collection
Tuesday, August 30th
(Blog) Elephant Awareness Month Book Club Review
I won't get into too much detail on what these posts will entail (though you can get the gist of these posts through the titles - haha!) but there will be a post either here or over on my YouTube channel at least once a week to celebrate the awesomeness of elephants! I'm excited to celebrate this month with you all and I'm looking forward to sharing these posts with you! <3
It's no secret (especially after this month!) that I love elephants. I know that I mentioned it in my The Elephant Pants unboxing video that I've always loved elephants, ever since I was a little kid. I can't remember having any other favorite animal (although dogs are a top contender!). I remember being really little and seeing elephants on a cover of a ZooBook and instantly falling in love. I remember doing multiple research projects and papers on elephants throughout elementary and middle school. I have so many memories of being fond of these animals throughout my entire life, and the more I read about them the more I love them. I thought I'd share a few reasons why I love elephants so much, and maybe you'll fall in love with them too!
Elephants are empathetic. There have been countless reports of elephants sensing distress in other elephants and comforting them. When I read Love, Life, and Elephants, Dame Daphne Sheldrick spoke of the elephants she reared caring for not only other elephants, but other animals as well who were grieving the loss of their families. Like humans, elephants can feel the pain of others and offer help in dealing with that pain, and that's a beautiful thing. Elephants have a strong memory. No matter what happens to them, whether it's something good or something bad, elephants remember. There is a reason why wild elephants do not trust humans - because there is a long standing history of poaching and other forms of violence against elephants by humans. It's a fact that aside from lions who occasionally prey on weak elephants in the wild, elephants have no natural predators, so it really is a shame that humans are almost exclusively wiping elephants off the face of the earth.
On a happier note, elephants can remember other elephants or even people after years and years of separation. Though males tend to leave their herds in their teenage years to live in solitude, they can always remember which herd is theirs, and they are always welcomed back with open arms (open trunks?). It's really, really awesome to think that there are many other creatures out there that have memories that are as good, if not better, than ours. Elephant herds are strongly matriarchal. The eldest females in the herd tend to be the highest regarded elephants, and the females are the ones that tend to keep the herd - numbers ranging from the low teens to over 100 elephants - together and functioning as a community. Any community - whether animal or human - that values its women is always a plus in my book! ;) Elephants rely on one another and form deep emotional relationships. This is probably my favorite thing about elephants. The bonds that elephants form are everlasting. They rely on one another and are always there for each other. They thrive on being able to provide care for each other which is so amazing. They know that in order to survive they must be able to create long lasting and trusting relationships, putting the herd in front of their own interests. So awesome.
So those are just a few of the reasons why I love elephants. Elephant Awareness Month has really brought my love for elephants to a new level and I hope one day to visit organizations that work to rehabilitate and save elephants. Until then, I will continue to do as much as I can from the comfort of my small town in the US to raise awareness and contribute to the efforts others are putting forth. I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to blog about elephants so much this month, and I hope that it shed some light onto how important the fight to conserve the species really is!
Two weeks ago I mentioned The Elephant Pants in my Favorite Elephant Saving Organizations post, and shortly after I made my very first purchase! As I mentioned, this company gives a portion of the profits from your order to various wildlife conservation organizations, mostly to those that focus on the conservation of elephants. Basically, they're awesome. I thought that I'd do a little unboxing and review for you all to show you what I bought!
Classic Prints
I ordered 3 items outright - two pairs of pants ($18 each) and a pair of shorts ($16 each), all in classic prints (TEP donates $1 per item for classic prints). The cool thing about each design is that each is named after a famous elephant in history. When I first discovered this website I spent a solid half hour just clicking onto each design and reading the story of so many elephants. Not every story is easy to read, but it does help you remember why it's important to make an effort - no matter how small - to save these animals from harm. I wanted to share with you the stories of the elephants behind the prints that I bought.
Left to Right: Tyke pants, Billie shorts, and Black Diamond pants
"Tyke was a circus elephant who on August 20, 1994 in Honolulu, Hawaii, killed her trainerAllen Campbell and gored her groom Dallas Beckwith, causing severe injuries during a Circus International performance before hundreds of horrified spectators. Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through downtown streets of Kakaako for more than 30 minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died."
"Billiewas a circus elephant who was known for rebelling against trainers and their abuse. She was rescued along with fifteen other elephants by the USDA from a barn where she had been retired to after attacking a trainer. Her life is documented in the book 'Last Chain On Billie'."
"Black Diamondwas an Indian elephant with Al G. Barnes Circus."
Mystery Box
As I was shopping around the site, I noticed that they had Mystery Boxes available. These tend to sell out quickly, so I knew I had to scoop one up. For $25 (promting a $1 donation), you receive a pair of classic pants as well as two mystery gifts (one that usually is in the $10/$15 range and one that is a bit smaller) - not too shabby! I was very eager to receive this mystery box to see what kind of items were coming my way, and I definitely wasn't disappointed.
I received a beautiful pink and maroon pair of pants (which I later found out were the Ruby pants), a canvas tote, and a TEP Sharpie! (I can only assume that the Sharpie is intended to fill in the blank on the tote design!) I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved the design of the pants I received. I don't think I would have ever picked out the Ruby design for myself (for whatever reason I tend to go for cooler colors when I shop for clothes) and I'm so happy that these were the ones I received. I was also PUMPED about the canvas tote! I was really considering buying the "This Bag Helped Save and Elephant" canvas tote and ultimately decided to wait 'til next time, so when I saw the tote in my Mystery Box I was VERY excited! (Oh, and who doesn't love a good Sharpie?!)
"Ruby was an elephant artist, resided at the Phoenix Zoo; at least one painting was sold for $100,000."
And since this is a haul post of sorts, I figured I'd also try on the items I bought for you, to show you how they look. (Please forget the lighting and the down angles that are inevitable when taking a mirror selfie of your legs!) For reference, my pant size can range between 7-10 depending on the pair of pants (amirite ladies?), and the elastic waist accommodates shapes between 0 and 12! My runner butt and thighs fit super comfortably in each pair of bottoms, and each item is super light, airy, and COMFY AF. I'm SUPER excited to start creating some outfits with these beauties!
Clockwise from top left: Billie shorts, Ruby pants, Tyke pants, Black Diamond Pants
I spent a total of $77 dollars and got a decent amount of gear that I know I'll be wearing regularly. The shipping is free after $75 and my order got to me relatively fast (I ordered late on a Tuesday Night and I received my package on Monday). The pants themselves are made in Thailand (information on how the pants are made and how the employees that make these pants are treated is available on their website, if that is an area of concern of yours) but they ship from NYC, so if you're in the US I'm assuming you'd have a similar shipping timeline (though I live in MA - not far from NY - so maybe it will take longer).
I am thrilled with this company and the products I bought and I'm so excited to be sharing this awesome company with you all. I would strongly encourage you to consider making a purchase at The Elephant Pants, and if the pants aren't your style, consider donating to one of the organizations that this company supports!
If you would like to see my unboxing & review video, check it out below!
Hello and welcome to yet another edition to my Favorite Links! As I was getting the links together for this post I noticed that it was extremely dog heavy... I must be missing my pups lately! Don't worry, there are a few other pieces of internet goodness sprinkled throughout the post, so be sure to check it all out below, and don't forget to share some of your favorite links in the comments! Tonkey Bear on Instagram
Who doesn't love a good dog Instagram account? Casey, my PC co-advisor at BSU, and I are huge fans of Wafflenugget, an adorable Bernese Mountain Dog on Instagram, so when I came across Tonkey I knew I had to share my love with not only Casey, but the world. He is legit a dog-bear and it is freaking ADORABLE. If you need a daily dose of cute on your feed, consider following Tonkey! (And Wafflenugget!)
Though the artist of this series is quite clearly biased toward pugs, these pieces are so great. As you can probably tell my favorite installment is Thor, but there are so many other great reimagined dog heroes. I love it, and more things like this need to be made on a regular basis. Keeping my fingers crossed for a DC version in the future!
I've been a huge fan of subscription boxes lately. Though I haven't indulged in any myself, I bought my mom a gift card to Stitch Fix for Mother's Day and my dad a couple of months worth of Mystery Tackle Box for Father's Day this year, and they both have said that they're really enjoying them so far! I came across Try the World on a Facebook ad (Google ad sense has me totally figured out) and I am so intrigued by it. Each subscription box features different foods from a specific city around the world, which is so awesome because my favorite part of traveling is trying the food of each region I visit! I could totally see myself subscribing to this at some point.
Men React to Their Girlfriends Getting Catcalled
Catcalling is one of the most frustrating things that can happen as a woman*, and it happens so, so often. This is an interesting project of men reacting to their girlfriends getting catcalled. It's too bad that it takes their girlfriend getting harassed on the street to see how much it can really impact a woman's daily life, but at least it's continuing the conversation about the matter.
*Keep in mind that catcalling and street harassment does not happen to women alone. It is an issue that impacts many demographics. As a woman, I am reacting to this video from a woman's perspective.
Design blogs are among my favorite type of blogs to follow. I stumbled across this lovely gal, Teri, while perusing through Pinterest in search of a new desktop background for my work computer, and she has so many adorable freebies! The more I sift through her website, the more I fall in love with it, so I highly recommend checking out her blog and her work!
These words have actually come out of my mouth on more than one occasion.
Ask Brett.
Buzzfeed has a few lists like these, but it they are always SO ACCURATE TO MY LIFE. I wish I had a place big enough and a schedule flexible enough to have a dog in my life at the moment, but it's just not in the cards for me right now. I just have to continue to really take advantage of all of my Kiwi & Mikey visits and become best friends with every dog I meet. #doglessprobz
Celebrating World Elephant Day
If you follow me on any social media platform, you would probably know that this past Wednesday (Aug. 12) was World Elephant Day! I'll spare you my outpouring love for elephants (for now) as I have a few more Elephant Awareness Month posts lined up throughout the rest of August, but I thought I'd share a video the DSWT posted on their Facebook that talks a little bit more about what they do for Elephants. I would also encourage you to check out WorldElephantDay.org and sign the pledge to spread awareness of what is happening to this beautiful species. You can click the link in this post, or click the badge that I under my "Community" section in the sidebar (it looks just like the image above)!
I bought this book in late February to take along for my family vacation, but I never got around to reading it until this summer. It just so happens that I finished up reading this book smack dab in the middle of Elephant Awareness Month, which made reading this memoir all the more special. I learned about this memoir at the same time I first learned about the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and I knew I had to read it. I was definitely not disappointed. This story chronicles the life of Dame Daphne Sheldrick, the founder of the DSWT, from her childhood growing up in Kenya, to her marriages and children, and - most importantly - her many relationships she developed with orphaned animals while rehabilitating them and reintegrating them back into the wild. This is a story of great love and (sadly) many great losses in her life.
While there are many funny anecdotes about the animals she and the Trust reared, it is not without deeply disturbing stories of poachers and violence against wild animals and the mistreatment of those held in captivity. Being a lover of animals, especially elephants, there were definitely parts of this book that were very hard for me to read. Unfortunately, the sad stuff is the reality of the situation for wild animals in many countries and it has been for years. As hard as those stories are to read, it does have the ability to spark your inner activist and make you want to do all you can to protect the gentle and empathetic animals that this memoir focuses in on.
If you're an animal lover like me, especially if you're a big fan of elephants, I would highly recommend this book. Learning about Dame Daphne Sheldrick, an outstanding conservationist who has quite literally given her life to helping animals, has been one of my favorite things I've done this summer. She has lead an extraordinary life that is nothing short of inspiring.
For those of you that might not know, August is Elephant Awareness Month! (Don't feel too bad if you didn't know. My elephant-loving self only just found this out this year. There seems to be an awareness month for everything, so it's hard to keep up!) We all know by now that I LOVE elephants, so I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to talk about a few of my favorite organizations whose aim it is to help save elephants from poaching, abuse, and captivity. I highly encourage you to check these organizations out - all of them are fairly active on social media and all do very cool things!
I found out about this organization earlier in the year and instantly fell in love. This wonderful organization takes in orphaned animals - primarily elephants and rhinos - and raises them to the point where the animal can live in the wild once again. Coincidentally, I am right in the middle of reading Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story - perfect timing for this month! - and am learning all about the story of how this organization came to be (look out for the book review next week). They also offer a program where you can donate to foster an elephant, which I think is the coolest thing EVER. I definitely plan to participate in the foster program sometime in the near future, and would LOVE to visit the trust in Nairobi one day. They're doing such wonderful things! Elephant Parade
Elephant Parade is a really cool art project that raises awareness of elephant endangerment and donates 20% of their proceeds to various organizations that work to prevent the poaching of elephants and improve the welfare of the species. The organization has artists from around the world paint large elephant statues in their own unique way and displays them in cities around the globe to raise awareness. You can even buy smaller statues on their online store - each one unique so you just have to collect them all!
This style is so in right now, so why not buy a pair that supports a wonderful cause? The Elephant Pants donates $1-$2 dollars per item to various elephant conservation organizations, and during the month of August, a few select items will donate $5! I love how each print tells a story about a famous elephant in history. I could click through each item just to rad the story that goes along with it. It really reminds you why these causes are so important. They sell pants (my favorite designs are above!), shorts, bags, tapestries, and even a cute little charm bracelet. I can't wait to get my hands on my next paycheck so I can buy a handful of these beauties! :)
Do you have any favorite wildlife conservation organizations?
Let me know in the comments because I would love to check each and every one of them out!
