Bamboo and Elephants

Yesterday our crew was busy culling canes from a stand of Bambusa chungii.

Objective:  Remove enough leafy canes to fill a 12-foot long by 3-foot high trailer.  The canes would then be transported to Tampa where they will be given to elephants in the Barnum and Bailey circus.

For the next several months, canes cut from the groves at Beautiful Bamboo will supplement the diet of Asian elephants in the circus.

In the wild, Asian Elephants like this one in Laos are accustomed to eating bamboo
Photo by Shannon O'Donnell, www.alittleadrift.com

Ryan transports a load of freshly cut Blue Timber Bamboo culms 

Unloading leafy bamboo canes into the trailer

A full load of Beautiful Bamboo to help keep the circus elephants happy and healthy