DAVID AND YUM YUM AND CHERI AND CUDDLES
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:30 pmDAVID AND YUM YUM AND CHERI AND CUDDLES
In the writing of this article I have had various suggestions for a title ranging from "Package Tour Pachyderms", "Thomas's Stowage and Carriage of Elephants" to. "Elephant Tramp" and although it resembles a recent movie title, I settled on the present one.
Elephants have the reputation of being smart and these four are no exception. Born in Uganda they took one look at Field Marshall Idi Amin Dada and when Mr Chipperfield came along did not object to a trip to England and a sojourn at Longleat, the safari park in the grounds of Lord Bath's ancestral home.
Taronga Park Zoo having seen England win the Test series thought that four African Pommie elephants might bolster up their cricket team so made an offer they couldn't refuse, namely a trip to Aussie on the Auckland Star.
The trip started off well with a quick dash down the M4 to Avonmouth albeit some four days later than scheduled as the wharfies had had a few strikes. On arrival at Avonmouth they were greeted by yet another strike, but as we all know the British love animals, a gang of volunteer wharfies loaded them onto their boat deck Penthouse complete with outside dunny. This magnificent edifice had taken a considerable time to construct and one assumes had cost a considerable amount of money. David was the first to come out from the cattle truck and having been chained fore and aft leant against one of the uprights of his new home which promptly cracked. An intrepid chippy armed with a 7lb maul tried to remove the offending piece but David, always willing to oblige, casually pulled it out with his trunk and handed it to the somewhat frightened chippy.
The second Penthouse, in typical British fashion, wasn't quite completed, so for the first night all four elephants bunked together. That first evening I was helping Mr. Cody, their keeper, give them their first, drink when the water supply suddenly stopped. On turning I saw that David, impatient for the bucket, had chomped through the hose.
I think we can safely assume the four elephants are the first ever to witness a rescue at sea. In the Caribbean we came upon a small Colombian coastal vessel drifting: she had been adrift for 4 days. On hailing her we discovered, through some Dock Sud Spanish that her engines had broken down. A rocket line was fired to her and she was hauled alongside. Attempts by ship staff to start her engines proved unsuccessful and we took her in tow some 70 miles to a safe anchorage off Barranquilla. At Panama the elephants became a little fractious at their first smell of land after 12 days at sea and tried to jump ship but their chains held. Agents sometimes get strange requests, but the order for some banana trees as a change of diet for 4 elephants must be the strangest yet. Anyway these tit-bits calmed the elephants down for an uneventful passage through the Canal. The next event was crossing the line and brought forth the best comment of the voyage. The chef told the purser that the deck boys were going to be initiated in the afternoon, the purser asked if the elephants were being done at the same time and the chef replied "No, but they have contributed to the proceeding".
In my seagoing career I have had to do some strange things but giving an injection to an elephant must be the strangest yet. Cheri slipped, injured her leg and went off her feed. The "Ship Mate's Medical Guide" doesn't cover this contingency but the shippers had provided drugs and equipment. Armed with a bicycle pump size syringe Cheri was injected. She managed to bend the needle on the first injection but the second went smoothly and she recovered well.
At all way ports the elephants were a source of amazement to the locals and received rave press notices and even a broadcast on Radio Samoa. Trying to prevent people coming on board was a jumbo-sized job~ At Lautoka swarms of local children tried to see from the quay but our freeboard was too high. It was decided to let the children come on board during the lunch break and an enterprising person told the kids that the entrance fee to see the elephants was a stick of sugar cane. The sight of hundreds of kids scattering in all directions and returning to the queue with sugar cane is one which will not be quickly forgotten.
On arrival at Sydney, discharge went very smoothly although Cuddles tried to get out of her box, but apart from that all went well.
We have all had a very enjoyable trip and have enjoyed having the elephants and Mr Cody with us.
Article written by Captain Tony Redclift when Chief Officer on the Auckland Star
Courtesy of Carol Redclift
In the writing of this article I have had various suggestions for a title ranging from "Package Tour Pachyderms", "Thomas's Stowage and Carriage of Elephants" to. "Elephant Tramp" and although it resembles a recent movie title, I settled on the present one.
Elephants have the reputation of being smart and these four are no exception. Born in Uganda they took one look at Field Marshall Idi Amin Dada and when Mr Chipperfield came along did not object to a trip to England and a sojourn at Longleat, the safari park in the grounds of Lord Bath's ancestral home.
Taronga Park Zoo having seen England win the Test series thought that four African Pommie elephants might bolster up their cricket team so made an offer they couldn't refuse, namely a trip to Aussie on the Auckland Star.
The trip started off well with a quick dash down the M4 to Avonmouth albeit some four days later than scheduled as the wharfies had had a few strikes. On arrival at Avonmouth they were greeted by yet another strike, but as we all know the British love animals, a gang of volunteer wharfies loaded them onto their boat deck Penthouse complete with outside dunny. This magnificent edifice had taken a considerable time to construct and one assumes had cost a considerable amount of money. David was the first to come out from the cattle truck and having been chained fore and aft leant against one of the uprights of his new home which promptly cracked. An intrepid chippy armed with a 7lb maul tried to remove the offending piece but David, always willing to oblige, casually pulled it out with his trunk and handed it to the somewhat frightened chippy.
The second Penthouse, in typical British fashion, wasn't quite completed, so for the first night all four elephants bunked together. That first evening I was helping Mr. Cody, their keeper, give them their first, drink when the water supply suddenly stopped. On turning I saw that David, impatient for the bucket, had chomped through the hose.
I think we can safely assume the four elephants are the first ever to witness a rescue at sea. In the Caribbean we came upon a small Colombian coastal vessel drifting: she had been adrift for 4 days. On hailing her we discovered, through some Dock Sud Spanish that her engines had broken down. A rocket line was fired to her and she was hauled alongside. Attempts by ship staff to start her engines proved unsuccessful and we took her in tow some 70 miles to a safe anchorage off Barranquilla. At Panama the elephants became a little fractious at their first smell of land after 12 days at sea and tried to jump ship but their chains held. Agents sometimes get strange requests, but the order for some banana trees as a change of diet for 4 elephants must be the strangest yet. Anyway these tit-bits calmed the elephants down for an uneventful passage through the Canal. The next event was crossing the line and brought forth the best comment of the voyage. The chef told the purser that the deck boys were going to be initiated in the afternoon, the purser asked if the elephants were being done at the same time and the chef replied "No, but they have contributed to the proceeding".
In my seagoing career I have had to do some strange things but giving an injection to an elephant must be the strangest yet. Cheri slipped, injured her leg and went off her feed. The "Ship Mate's Medical Guide" doesn't cover this contingency but the shippers had provided drugs and equipment. Armed with a bicycle pump size syringe Cheri was injected. She managed to bend the needle on the first injection but the second went smoothly and she recovered well.
At all way ports the elephants were a source of amazement to the locals and received rave press notices and even a broadcast on Radio Samoa. Trying to prevent people coming on board was a jumbo-sized job~ At Lautoka swarms of local children tried to see from the quay but our freeboard was too high. It was decided to let the children come on board during the lunch break and an enterprising person told the kids that the entrance fee to see the elephants was a stick of sugar cane. The sight of hundreds of kids scattering in all directions and returning to the queue with sugar cane is one which will not be quickly forgotten.
On arrival at Sydney, discharge went very smoothly although Cuddles tried to get out of her box, but apart from that all went well.
We have all had a very enjoyable trip and have enjoyed having the elephants and Mr Cody with us.
Article written by Captain Tony Redclift when Chief Officer on the Auckland Star
Courtesy of Carol Redclift