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 1 Elephant Gets New Home — Basic Story

There is an elephant that has spent the last 20 years in a California zoo. Her name is Ruby. She was sent to the
zoo after she spent some time performing in a circus.
A group called PAWS has been trying to get her into an animal sanctuary. PAWS stands for "Performing
Animals Welfare Society." The animal sanctuary that PAWS owns has a lot of land. They let the animals roam
around instead of being in a cage. It would be more like a natural home to Ruby.
It took PAWS nine years to get permission to move Ruby. She was finally loaded onto a truck and moved out
of the urban environment.
A person who works for PAWS said that she seems right at home at the sanctuary. She is eating well and has
already made a special friend.
Ruby has been rubbing trunks with another elephant. This is something that elephants do when they care about
each other. The other elephant was brought to the sanctuary two years ago. She also came from a zoo.
The sanctuary will give Ruby 100 acres to roam around on. She will also get the chance to socialize with three
other elephants there.
Experts say that elephants that have been in captivity often have a hard time getting along. Ruby seems to be
doing great and adjusting well. She seems to like her new home and friends.

 2 Elephant Gets New Home — Full Story

Ruby the elephant, who spent nearly half her life at the Los Angeles Zoo, is now at the PAWS animal
sanctuary in Calaveras County.
Ruby the elephant has been a favorite at the zoo for 20 years. The elephant arrived at the Los Angeles Zoo in
1987 after spending some time performing in a circus.
For the last nine years, animal activists have been trying to get her to an animal sanctuary and out of her urban
environment. Early Tuesday morning Ruby was finally loaded aboard a big rig in Los Angeles and seven hours
later arrived at the Calaveras County sanctuary run by PAWS, the Performing Animal Welfare Society.
Almost from the moment she arrived, Ruby seemed at home. According to PAWS co-founder Pat Derby,
"She's feeling really great. She's in the barn with three others, and she's already found a special friend."
In fact, Derby says Ruby's already rubbing trunks and communicating affectionately with LuLu, an elephant
brought to PAWS from the San Francisco Zoo two years ago. "Just touching trunks and doing all of the
caressing that elephants do in the wild when they really care about each other," said Derby.
At the sanctuary, Ruby will soon be able to roam 100 acres of rolling hills and socialize fully with the three
other elephants there.
Experts say elephants who've been in captivity often find it difficult to get along. So far, Ruby seems to be
living up to the social skills her former handlers say she has in abundance.

 3 acre

a unit of area; a size of a piece of land

 4 captivity

to be held so as to keep from escaping

 5 circus

a traveling show with animals and performers

 6 natural

the way things are meant to be

 7 PAWS

Performing Animal Welfare Society

 8 permission

to be allowed to do something

 9 sanctuary

a place that provides shelter and protection

 10 socialize

to live around and be with a group

 11 trunk

the long nose of an elephant

 12 urban

a city environment

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