An earthshaking arrival at PAWS

By Cynthia Hubert - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, April 5, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/149489.html

He's possibly the biggest elephant ever to stomp into Northern California.

At 9,500 pounds, more than 9 feet tall and growing, Nicholas is as gigantic as he is charming, says Pat Derby, founder of the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Galt, the pachyderm's home for the time being.

"Asian bull elephants are notorious for being difficult and destructive, but Nicholas is great," Derby says of her new charge, who escaped abusive conditions in Illinois and arrived at PAWS by truck this week. His smaller companion, Gypsy, joined him.

PAWS agreed to take the elephants after the USDA ruled in 2003 that they were being mistreated by their corporate owners in Illinois. Nine other pachyderms quickly found homes elsewhere, but Nicholas and Gypsy languished because of their size and the reputed aggressiveness of their breed.

In order to accept the animals, Derby and her partner Ed Stewart had to design a permanent enclosure for them at their 2,300-acre elephant sanctuary in Calaveras County. The project will cost about $1 million, Derby says. Until it is built, Nicholas and Gypsy will make their home behind reinforced fencing in Galt.

The campaign to raise money for the Calaveras enclosure is off to a rousing start, as game-show host Bob Barker has pledged $500,000 to the cause. PAWS is looking for corporate sponsors, individual supporters and construction supplies including pipe and barn materials to round out the costs of feeding and housing the pachyderms.

At maturity, bull elephants can reach 7 tons in weight and stand 10 feet high, Derby says. They consume about 325 pounds of vegetation each day.

For now, Nicholas and Gypsy seem pleased with their new surroundings, Derby says.

"We were prepared for the worst and hoped for the best, and we think we nailed it," she says. "They arrived here safely and we unloaded them safely. They're in good shape."

When Nicholas emerged from the truck that brought him to Northern California, "he gave us a look like, 'Where are we, and what's going on?'

"We fed him a watermelon and lots of other treats, and he loved that."

Then Gypsy made her first Northern California appearance.

"She ran right out to Nicholas, and started talking to him," Derby says. "We gave her a watermelon, and she took half of it and gave it to Nicholas. These two are totally devoted to each other. It's a very touching thing to see."