FELLSMERE — When John Lehnhardt and Jeff Bolling arrive to work, they get to do what most people wish – spend time hanging around their friends. At The National Elephant Center, though, these friends are tall, gray, long-trunked African elephants.
“It feels right,” Bolling said of having these particular elephants move to the center located in Fellsmere. For 15 years, Bolling worked with now-32-year-old Moyo at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Her first calf was born at Disney. Bolling was on hand to help welcome the baby.
“They’re like good friends for me,” Bolling said.
Moyo, her two boys – 10-year-old Tufani and 5-year-old Tsavo – and another 32- or 33-year-old female, Thandi, recently made the trek by truck from Disney to Fellsmere, where they will stay for the indefinite future.
Not getting too close to the fence of the several-acre enclosure where the small family herd was grazing on citrus trees, Chief Executive Officer John Lehnhardt cautioned others to keep their distance.
“She’ll defend her territory,” he said, referring to Moyo, who kept watch all the while she worked to pluck oranges off a tree.
Lehnhardt, too, worked for a time at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, administering to the elephants. Having the first residents of the center come from the theme park is, in a sense, coming full circle, he said.
“I think it helped pave the way,” Lehnhardt said.
Both Lehnhardt and Bolling know the top-notch care Disney gives its animals – and Disney was confident in sending them the elephants.
“It’s a good fit for us,” Lehnhardt said.
Thandi is the “quintessential matriarch” of the herd, Bolling said, explaining that despite popular belief, the matriarch is a caring leader, not a bully.
“She provides good direction” to the herd, he said. “She’s fair.”
Thandi’s energy is a positive influence on the other three elephants, who look to her for reassurance and guidance.
“Moyo is a little more high strung,” Bolling said, adding that she is an eager worker.
As for Tufani and Tsavo, “they are the epitome of little boys,” he said.
Tufani is quickly approaching adolescence and, depending on the attitude he throws toward his mother and the matriarch, might find himself removed to another paddock.
Lehnhardt said Tufani is already beginning to show signs of attitude. Once he’s the same size as the females, the females might start to run him off.
Tsavo, at 5, thinks he’s a big boy but isn’t quite, according to Bolling.
“He’d like you to think he’s big and bad and tough,” Bolling said, but as soon as something makes him feel uncomfortable, he hides behind either Moyo or Thandi.
The elephants arrived at The National Elephant Center two weeks ago and are adjusting to life outside the Animal Kingdom park.
“They’re adapting very, very quickly,” Lehnhardt said. The herd had been moved to one of several citrus grove-turned-elephant-paddocks late last week and were already comfortable enough to begin playing with the palm and citrus trees.
Neither Bolling nor Lehnhardt know for how long the Disney herd will remain at the center. It’s possible they could spend the rest of their lives there if the park so desires. In the meantime, the park is paying boarding fees on a 6-month basis.
That fee includes veterinary care and food at a rate of $2,000 per animal per month and does not include the cost of labor and other considerations, according to Lehnhardt.
In the event the Disney herd remains at the center, Tufani – and later his brother – will be moved to another paddock, where Lehnhardt would suspect other male elephants from other zoos would join him in a bachelor herd.
“The key is the flexibility,” he said, noting that the center already has three 5-acre paddocks and two more just needing fencing, and another 75 acres that could be developed quickly if needed.
Though The National Elephant Center isn’t open – and won’t be open – for the general public, special tours for various groups could be scheduled on a case-by-case basis.
A Fellsmere Cub Scout den was granted access and left the five boys speechless.
“It was breath-taking,” said Den Mom Jennifer Alderton, who chaperoned the visit. “There’s almost no words. We made eye-contact with the elephants.”
As for the boys?
“They seemed to be blown away,” Alderton said. “Their eyes were so big!”
Alderton said the trip was particularly special for her because she grew up in Fellsmere and is a teacher at Fellsmere Elementary School.
“Fellsmere is famous for so many things,” she said, adding that the city will now be famous for elephants.
Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker agreed. He, too, got to visit the center last week.
“It was very cool,” he said. “It’s a unique experience.”
He said that he’s proud that the city supported bringing the elephant center to the area.
“I’m looking forward to a long relationship with TNEC,” Nunemaker said, using the acronym for The National Elephant Center.
Lehnhardt explained that this particular herd is unique to Disney in that it does not have the ability to be a multi-generational family group like the other herd still at the park. In the wild, the male offspring leave the herd when they reach adolescence in search of their own females.
Given the opening of The National Elephant Center and Disney’s pre-existing relationship with Lehnhardt and Bolling, the park saw an opportunity to help pilot the program in Fellsmere, Lehnhardt said.
“It’s a perfect fit for us and for them,” Lehnhardt said.
The center itself defies a simple description. It’s not a breeding facility. It’s not a sanctuary. It’s not a research lab. It’s a bit of everything.
“We are whatever elephants need,” Lehnhardt said. The center could be used as a temporary housing facility while the home zoo undertakes renovations to its elephant habitat. It could be a place for a young male elephant to come until another zoo is interested in introducing him to their herd. And it could be a place for unwanted elephants to live out the remainder of their lives.
“Breeding is not the primary piece,” Lehnhardt said, though he explained the center is equipped to assist if needed.
Scott Krug is one of three elephant handlers at The National Elephant Center. For him, there’s no better job in the world.
“I’ve been loving it,” he said, adding that he moved from Clermont, Fla., to be a part of the center. His family is still in Clermont, where the kids are finishing up the school year.
“You can’t beat working the breeze with the elephants,” Krug said.