Update III from Texas

Update II from Texas

Update from Texas

Hittin' the Road

I'm off to meet Norma Grace in person!  And see the rest of her proud family.

Olifant Parade

Downtown Hasselt is hosting an Elephant Parade, so to speak.  

It is committed to the preservation and rescue of the endangered Asian elephant.  

The Asian elephant is highly intelligent sharing traits with human, apes and some dolphins. 

They inhabit grasslands and tropical forests.

Asian elephants have a recorded lifespan of 86 years.

But the average is about 60 years in the wild.

They live primarily in Southeast Asia from India eastward.

The very tip of their trunk is used like a finger.

They are very social and roam in herds of up to 15 to 30 members.

A male Asian elephant can weigh as much as 12,000 lbs, nearly as much as a mac truck.

They don't sleep much and spend most of their day foraging for food.

They never get too far away from a source of water.

There are 40 elephants displayed around Hasselt

and I took pictures of those I came across.

Apparently I somehow missed exactly half of them.

The Elephant Parade began in 2008 and since then has traveled to 10 places 

including the country of Singapore, the cities of Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London and  

now Hasselt!

According to the elephant parade website . . .

the USA is a planned destination for 2013.

They are just looking for a city!