Elephants from Fukushima spend winter in Okinawa where they can eat their favourite food, sugar cane

Elephants from Fukushima spend winter in Okinawa where they can eat their favourite food, sugar cane

Children feeding the elephants carrots.


December 22, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

A welcome ceremony for two Asian elephants, Tonsai and Buntoon, from Tohoku Safari Park in Fukushima was held on December 17 at the Okinawa Zoo & Museum. The elephants are staying in Okinawa to see out the winter. The curator of the zoo, Masaru Takada, greeted visitors, saying, “Please enjoy yourselves and learn many things with them.” Children climbed up the elephants’ backs and fed them carrots. The elephants will stay in the zoo until next March.

This is the third wintering for the elephants at the Okinawa Zoo & Museum. Tonsai has an adorable and well-rounded body, and Buntoon has a thin body and long legs. The two elephants have been on loan from Laos for three years as a gesture to cheer up the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Children feeding the elephants said that it was fun and that they were surprised by the elephants’ size.
The president of the safari park Nobushige Kumakubo said, “The two elephants like sugar cane and were looking forward to visiting Okinawa.”

(English translation by T&CT and Sayaka Sakuma)　

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