Phil Lambert takes animal welfare seriously, from his four dogs to his latest “pet,” Rosie, an African elephant who now lives at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Thanks to donations from customers, sale of Rosie-themed merchandise and a special blend of coffee, the owner of The Bean Scene Coffee House is raising $1,000 every week for the care of the 46-year-old elephant.
“Friends of mine have said, and have gently lectured me, that if you’re going to do this stuff, you’ve got to bring her out in the public and they’re right. I hate the exposure but I want to do what I can for Rosie,” said Lambert.
Rosie was captured from the wild in 1971 and brought to the U.S. where she lived in several Florida facilities. She moved to the zoo in Jackson, Miss., in 1977 at the age of six. Juno, an African female, joined her in 1982. Rosie and Juno lived together at the Jackson Zoo until 2010 when they were transferred to the Nashville Zoo. There, they joined Hadari and Sukari. Juno died last year. Hadari, Sukari and Rosie were retired to The Elephant Sanctuary (TES) last fall.
“Customers ask me if we can see them, but you can’t, although you can go to the TES website and see videos of the elephants. She was incarcerated and now they are just there to live and to be elephants.
“I can’t imagine what it was like to be ripped from their mothers at the age of one. Elephants will mourn the loss of someone for two years — they’ve got such immense ties with other elephants and with family.”
At TES, Rosie continues to share space with Sukari. The duo will nap together at night, spend time side by side and walk around the yard together during the day.
Rosie is the elephant at the Africa barn that requires the most care and attention. She has had a variety of health problems including lameness in her front right leg and abscesses in her nails.
“She is allowed to roam free on 2,700 acres,” said Lambert. “She does have a barn stall but she’s not forced into it.”
Founded in 1995, TES provides a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of green pastures, dense forests, spring-fed ponds and heated barns for cold winter nights. The non-profit organization is designed specifically for elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses.
Lambert jokes that he has loved animals since he left his mother’s womb, but his fascination with elephants took root in 1991 when he flew to Africa and visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage outside of Nairobi.
“And throw in Discovery Channel, National Geographic and watching and reading about elephants where I became fascinated. I got involved financially and decided to bring it closer to home and come out of the elephant closet, so to speak.”
When Lambert found out about TES, he contacted CEO Janice Zeitlin.
“She is a lovely, down-to-earth woman and I told her we want to ‘adopt’ an elephant but we want your most challenged elephant. Shirley is 67 and very popular; there is lots of money going to her, which is great, but Rosie has the most challenges.
“She is very small for an African, just shy of a mini van, and only weighs 7,400 pounds, she should be up around the 10,000 mark. She doesn’t have tusks, she has two holes in her ear, where they stuck meat hooks in to steer her around.”
Lambert has been involved with causes that are close to his heart for as long as he can remember, in particular North Okanagan Youth and Family Services Society for the past 21 years.
“I’m a huge animal advocate and elephants are very sentient beings and just because they can’t speak English doesn’t mean they don’t speak a language, and it’s up to us to recognize it.
“I’m surprised by the support I’ve had; I get so caught up in my causes, and I’m passionate about this.”
A recent gift for Rosie was an unusual one: a rototiller. Lambert explains that a foot of sand was placed in Rosie’s stall to make it more comfortable for her.
“I got a phone call asking if they could buy Rosie a rototiller to fluff up her stall. She will turn that sand into concrete, so they got a really good one and they can fluff up her sand for her.”
Lambert has come up with a wide range of ideas to raise money for Rosie, including Rosie T-shirts, tote bags and pens hand-crafted from wood.
As well, $2 from the sale of a cup of Rosie lemonade goes to her care, and 1609 Restaurant and Lounge at Silver Star is making a granola bar for the project.
“We buy them for $1.98 and sell them for $3.95, and two bucks of every bar goes to Rosie. We don’t make a penny.”
Wednesday is Rosie Wednesday: buy a short dark cup of the Rosie roast for $2 and every penny is given to her.
“And I approached Ray at Olive Us and he came up with a line of olive oil, pickled pepper and a balsamic vinegar and he cuts a hell of a deal for us. We don’t take a penny from any products we bring in for Rosie.”
Lambert is enthusiastic about the sanctuary’s education program, which uses an “ele-cam” to allow classes to “visit’ the elephants.
“This is something I want to do here, it is in its infancy at this point but I’m working on it,” he said. “It’s all about education — prejudice comes from a lack of education. It’s up to me and us to educate people.
“A customer asked me how long I’m going to do this for, and I said til Rosie dies, til I die or I lose my lease.”
Stop by The Bean Scene to pick up some Rosie merchandise or to make a donation.
For more information about TES or to donate directly to Rosie or any of the other elephants, please see elephants.com
