The Story of Penelope Petunia

One Special Elephant

Written and illustrated by the fifth graders of P.S. 107 John W. Kimball Learning Centerwith a foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall

Some 30 years ago, about one and a quarter million elephants walked the

earth. Today there are no more than half a million — and there are fewer

every year. Why is this happening? Of course, over the years more and more

of their habitat has been lost. But the biggest threat now to the remaining

elephants is hunting for the ivory trade. In other words, elephants are killed

simply for their tusks. Ivory is so valuable today that it is worth more than

gold — indeed, it is often called “white gold.” And what is the ivory used for?

To make carvings and all manner of little trinkets.

To supply the demand — which, in large part, comes from China with its long

tradition of ivory carving — over sixty percent of the world’s forest elephants

have been killed in the last decade while in just the last three years alone,

100,000 elephants have been slaughtered.

Elephants need champions. There are dedicated men and women working

in the field in anti-poaching units — a dangerous job. And many others are

acting as rangers in the national parks and reserves of Africa and Asia. And

there are those people who are dedicated to raising funds. And there are

those raising awareness, which is desperately important in order to stop not

only the hunting, but also the demand for ivory.

It is really important for children to learn about the rich social life of

elephants. There are close bonds between family members that can

Foreword

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last throughout their 60 years of life. They have the same emotions of

happiness, sadness, fear, despair and so on as we do. Forest elephants also

play an important role in maintaining the diversity of life — seeds in their

dung grow into new trees. And they create clearings in the forest when

they push trees over, and this lets in the light which benefits many animals

and plants. We can call them forest gardeners.

But unless we work together to tackle poaching, elephants could become

extinct in the wild quite soon. It is a shocking thought that tomorrow’s

children might only know them in picture books. It is exciting to know

that students are joining the fight, for among them are those who will

become tomorrow’s conservationists and wildlife biologists.

This book, created by the children of P.S. 107, is a perfect example.

The story of elephant calf Penelope is moving and will be of great

interest to other children — and their parents. It will help people better

understand the plight of all elephants, and is an important contribution

to the survival of the species.

Congratulations, students of P.S. 107!

— Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

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My name is Penelope.

I’m a baby forest elephant.

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We are very different from the “giants” or savannah elephants. In fact,

we are the smallest species of elephant. We live in dense forests, just

how we like it!

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We forest elephants can be up

to nine feet tall. My mommy has

big floppy ears and long tusks.

My tusks will start growing

when I am 18 months old.

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Some of my family have trunks that can reach seven feet long.

We use our super-duper long trunks to shower. Sometimes we

even swim, using our trunks as snorkels.

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I live in Dzanga Bai, which is a clearing

surrounded by lovely forest. It is located

in the Central African Republic.

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There is a trail in the forest made hundreds of years ago by

elephant traffic. It leads to the clearing where us elephants

can just roam freely and safely and play.

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My world here is mostly green — the trees, the flowers, the moss.

But it is also very colorful, with birds and different colored flowers.

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There are two kinds of seasons: wet and dry.

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I love the wet season the most, because water makes mud and mud

equals fun. When I want to play, I will sit down and wag my head,

waiting for the playing to start. I love to roll in the mud with my

friends. It keeps us cool and protects our skin from the hot sun.

My mommy cleans me after with her big trunk.

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In the dry season, I stay in the shade and eat a lot of food, like

sweet berries, grasses and tree leaves. Sometimes, we have to

search very hard to find a good place to drink. I don’t like this

part of the year. It hurts my feet and legs to walk so much!

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Every morning it is eat, eat, eat, eat, eat! My mommy and I go into the

forest to get delicious refreshing fruit. On the way, we pick up roots,

twigs and sticks to eat. Doesn’t that sound yummy?

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I live with buffalo and gorillas. At night, the birds

are chirping. It is a very peaceful place!

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Life in the

Bai may seem

all fun and games,

but it isn’t.

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My family, friends and I are in great danger, along with other elephants

of my kind. Humans called poachers are hunting and killing us for our

beautiful ivory tusks, just to make statues and figurines. We have a

whole world out here, and some people are trying to destroy it.

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But I know there are also people trying to help us, because I saw

them with my own eyes. My next door neighbor, Andrea Turkalo,

helps me and my mommy and my sisters by taking photos of us

and learning about our habits. She lives in this tiny hut in our

sanctuary. And she doesn’t only study us, she lets the world

know about us. That’s my favorite part!

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My name, Penelope, comes from a long

line of other Penelopes. My grandma is

Penelope I. She was the first of all the

Penelopes and started the tradition.

She is the oldest elephant I know with

the name Penelope. The people at

Dzanga Bai found her here.

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Now grandma is the head of the herd. I also have an

aunt I love, Penelope II. My mom, the best one ever,

is the first Penelope III. My siblings are Penelope III (II)

and Penelope III (III).

Left to right: My mom, Penelope III, as a youngster; my grandma, Penelope I; and baby Maya

Left to right: My mom, Penelope III; me, Penelope III (IV);

and my sisters, Penelope III (III) and Penelope III (II)

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I am the youngest. My full name is Penelope III (IV).

Penelope IBorn 1970

Penelope IIFemale

Born 1986

Penelope VIFemale

Born 2002

Penelope VIIMale

Born 2006

Penelope VMale

Born 1999

Penelope IIIFemale

Born 1990

Penelope II(II)Female

Born 2000

Penelope II(III)Female

Born 2006

Penelope III(II)Female

Born 2006

Penelope III(III)Female

Born 2010

Penelope IVFemale

Born 1994

Penelope VIIIMale

Born 2009

Penelope III(IV)Female

Born 2014

Penelope IV(II)Male

Born 2010

Penelope IXMale

Born 2014

The Penelopes — A Family Tree

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We live in a maternal herd, with all the other

mommies, babies and girl teenagers. The

daddies and boy teenagers live alone.

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For my mommy and daddy, it was

love at first sight. My mommy was

pregnant with me for 22 months!

That’s almost two years!

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I was born on May 1, 2014. When we come out of our mommies,

we are pink. Amazing, right? But I’m an elephant, not a flamingo.

I was 232 pounds at birth and could walk almost right away.

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I love my mommy. I stayed by her side from the minute I was born.

She gives me all I need, from food to protection and care. She tells me

a bedtime story about a magical forest that comes alive only at night.

Then I fall asleep.

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We have a secret elephant language to

communicate. We use it to talk about day-to-day

stuff — complaining, telling jokes and having

fun. When we trumpet, it’s our way of saying hello.

Baby elephants like me make a super-high squeaky

sound. We also scream when we are in trouble.

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Sometimes we purr like a cat. We make these low sounds to find each

other, especially in the dense forest. It’s called infrasound. We do it

through the end of our trunks. It’s something no other animal can hear,

because the noise is too low for their ears. Our buffalo friends always

wonder what we are saying.

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My mommy says we are a keystone species. We help animals in the

same place survive. When we eat the bigger plants, the smaller plants

get the sunlight they need. We help tinier animals when we make

paths. Big mommies and daddies help to clear land by pulling down

trees and clearing thorny bushes.

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We also help create waterholes in dry

rivers, even just with our giant feet, so

other animals can find some water to sip.

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We might seem big and dangerous, but we can be extremely emotional.

Elephants can recognize death, and when we do, it upsets us a lot.

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I could say I am the bravest elephant in the forest,

but there is one thing that makes me run to my

mommy faster than you can imagine.

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It was so bad that Andrea, who lives in the small wooden hut next to

where I play, left for over a year. We had to hide for days before people

came to help.

In April of 2013, mean poachers came to Dzanga Bai and killed 26

of our elephant friends. I was still in my mommy’s belly, and thankfully

she was not killed. But she knew a few of the elephants that died and

some were even her friends.

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I wonder why the poachers are so selfish

and mean. We never did anything to them.

So why do they hurt us? Mommy always

tells me that violence is not the answer.

But even she can’t stop this.

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But there’s also very good news!

A soldier from Israel came to my

home to help protect us from

the poachers, after he

learned about the attack.

Nir Kalron is a former

commando, and that

means that he fought

in a battle!

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I especially give a lot of cuddles to my special friend Nir.

He brought in equipment, like cameras and satellite

phones and solar panels. He got everybody together,

and now people watch out for us and are trying to

catch the bad guys.

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About 95 percent of forests are nearly empty of elephants. Since

2002, the number of African forest elephants (me) have dropped by

65 percent! Ninety six elephants are slaughtered in Africa every day,

making for one every 15 minutes.

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Our habitat is getting smaller. Humans are coming closer. This is scary

because poachers are able to come straight to us. The roads that allow

this are called highways of death. I wouldn’t want to travel on one.

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My friends tell me that within

ten years, if this keeps up,

we could all be dead! I don’t

want my tusks to be jewelry

when I’m older.

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But around the world, people are trying to help us. A campaign called

96 Elephants got some places to ban the selling and buying of elephant

tusks. It has gotten TV shows that display ivory to stop. New York has

banned ivory for good. You can help by not buying ivory, because you’d

be buying one of my dead family members.

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But right now, what elephant is the happiest in the world?

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I am, because I just found out that fifth graders at P.S. 107 in Brooklyn

gave me a whole new name — Penelope Petunia. They are trying to

help us by raising awareness.

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When some bad thing happens, I look at the big trees so tall up they

look like they’re touching the clouds. They make me feel calm, quiet

and safe. Right now, I am keeping my head high and hoping that

people around the world can put an end to poaching. Tell your family

and friends my story and maybe one day, we can.

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Fifth Grade Authors and Illustrators

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In the late spring of 2014, one of my colleagues at the Wildlife Conservation

Society (WCS) brought to my attention a book written by the fifth grade

students of Brooklyn’s Public School 107 John W. Kimball Learning Center.

The book — One Special Rhino — was a beautifully told story of a young

Sumatran rhinoceros named Andatu.

I must say I was impressed. The passion and care with which the book was

prepared, the depth of feeling for a threatened species it expressed, and the

time that had so clearly been spent to better understand the conservation

challenges facing wild rhinos was truly inspirational. These were special

kids and this was a special book.

So it is my great pleasure to join in P.S.107’s second publishing effort,

One Special Elephant: The Story of Penelope Petunia. For the past two

years I have directed a campaign, 96 Elephants, to raise awareness of the

plight of elephants in the wild. In the face of a massive increase in the

poaching of elephants for their tusks, we have sought policy changes to

address the crisis.

The campaign takes its name from the sad statistic that 96 elephants

are killed every day in Africa. That’s one every 15 minutes. To stop the

Afterword

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killing of elephants as well as the trade and demand for ivory, we need the

participation of all who care — from conservationists like Andrea Turkalo

(whom you met in these pages) to public officials to students like those

at P.S. 107.

One Special Elephant is a unique effort. It expresses a clear love of wildlife

and provides a wonderfully detailed portrait of forest elephants, their family

relationships, and their ecological roles. One Special Elephant is perhaps

most impressive in its connection of these issues to the current ivory crisis,

reminding us why our actions now are so important.

Enjoy this book and then please pass it along to a friend. It is an

extraordinary achievement that must be shared with all those who care

about the future of wildlife and elephants in particular . . . no matter

their age!

— John F. Calvelli, Director, 96 Elephants

Bronx, New York, April 2015

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Acknowledgements

The Beast Relief committee would like to thank the following individuals

and organizations for their support. Dr. Jane Goodall, who has inspired so

many school children around the world, contributed a foreword. The Wildlife

Conservation Society (WCS) provided research material, essential guidance

and an introduction to the elephants of Dzanga Bai. John Calvelli, director

of the WCS 96 Elephants campaign, contributed an afterword. Conservation

scientist Andrea Turkalo shared photographs and information about

Penelope and her extended family, and allowed the P.S. 107 fifth graders to

give Penelope a new name. Nir Kalron and the team of Maisha Consulting

offered information. Remi Pognante provided photographs. Eve Litwack,

P.S. 107’s principal, encouraged this project and provided essential logistical

support. Fifth-grade teachers Dominique Freda, Michael Carlson, Sarah

Hunt and Amanda Porzse helped bring this project to all 89 fifth graders.

And of course, without our talented fifth graders, there would be no book.

Text and illustrations copyright © 2015 by P.S. 107 John W. Kimball Learning Center Photography copyright © 2015 by Remi Pognante

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by the Beast Relief committee of P.S. 107 John W. Kimball Learning Center

Visit us on the Web! Beast Relief: ps107.org/beastrelief Wildlife Conservation Society 96 Elephants: 96elephants.org Jane Goodall Institute: JaneGoodall.org Roots & Shoots: RootsAndShoots.org

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

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Proceeds from this book will be directed to the Wildlife Conservation Society to support ongoing elephant conservation in Dzanga Bai.