In my home I have an abstract painting signed by the artist. It hangs proudly with a photo of her and I below. We worked on it together–she picked the colors and signed it with her unique signature–the tip of her trunk. The painting was done by Carol, an Asian elephant. Carol was euthanized last week.
Carol was one of the Asian elephants highlighted in my last book. She was quite the character–very smart and very creative. She would often “dink” with the trainers to see how slow she could do a behavior–or alter it with her creative twists–and see if she would still be rewarded.
She would flap her ears and twist her truck tip (much like when people wring their hands) when excited. She was one of my favorite students.
Carol was also a Tonight Show regular and an ambassador for all elephants as she captured the hearts of the public, staff, and anyone she encountered.
There are a lot of comments related to her condition but that is another story…
Here are a few articles:
