Elephant News Returns After Long Hiatus

Kenya has gone from three years of terrible drought to the worst flooding in a decade; more than a hundred people have been killed. In the long run the return of the rainy season can only be a good thing, but in the short term it's disastrous for the human residents. For other animals, such as elephants, it's a bonanza. (Wildcast, by the way, has some great videos, and a Flickr account as well--check out the pictures of the newborn elephant calf; it's the blog of wildlife photographer Kim Wolhuter, who's in the process of making a new film.)

Back in the colonies, Bob Barker has pledged $300,000 to move Ruby, a 45-year-old African elephant, from the Los Angeles Zoo to a PAWS sanctuary in San Andreas. The L.A. Zoo doesn't even want to talk about it.

Here's a small story about elephant smuggling in India. You read that right.

Englishwoman Katherine Conner has created a sanctuary for Asian elephants in Thailand, and is seeking donations.

Osama bin Laden is killed. Well, maybe not. A killer elephant in Assam, India was named after the world's most elusive bogeyman, and after a long hunt it appears that he's been brought down. Except that Kushal Sharma from the College of Veterinary Science in Gauhati is pretty sure it's the wrong elephant. There's a metaphor in there somewhere. There's also another dead elephant.