Thread: Memory Lane (In my own language)

Queenie (1952 – May 30^th, 2011) was a captive female Asian elephant born wild in 1952 in Thailand. She was imported to the U.S.A. and put on sale in the Trefflich pet store in New York.

In 1953, at 6 months of age she was sold to Bill Green, and his daughter Elisabeth (Liz) Green (later ‘Dane’).

“I knew we were going to a pet store, but had no idea about the true purpose of the trip,” Dane told recently.

She looked at puppies and kittens before spotting the elephant in the room: Queenie, 6 months old and weighing 250 pounds.

“Dad asked if that was the pet I would like to bring home,” Dane recalled, “and I, of course, said ‘YES!’”

For 14 years, Dane cared for Queenie. And they treated one another as best of friends. They played, but they also trained. As a circus performer, Queenie learned to water ski and play harmonica. She skied during the late ’50s and early ’60s.

Queenie and Dane's act made appearances at states and county fairs, TV shows, and circuses around the country. During the show, Queenie and Dane would water ski, play the harmonica, and dance.

Marj and Jim Rusing, the owners of a Florida tourist attraction called De Leon Springs, introduced Queenie to water skiing in 1950's. Queenie was billed as "The World's Only Water Skiing Elephant" after she replaced the world's first water skiing elephant.

Liz Dane said Queenie was not being mistreated, "She thoroughly loved skiing. She would put her trunk in the water and get a big scoop of water and spray it all over the place! She loved it. Elephants can swim. That particular area, the water wasn't that deep. And even if she did spill over, they can swim. There was no danger."

In 1965, she appeared in a series of print advertisement for the Mercury outboard motors company. She also appeared on ‘The Tonight Show’ and more.

By the summer of 1967, Dane’s father had passed away and she was preparing for college. The grown girl and Queenie parted ways. Queenie was sold to an "elephant performance team" in Michigan. In 1981 she was sold to Circus Gatti

In June, 1959 during an appearance at the Bicentennial Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, waves from a passing towboat caused Queenie to fall off her skis. Bill Green, who had been water-skiing next to Queenie, held her snorkel above the water until a crane was found and used to haul the elephant out of the water.

According to a news article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the director of the local Humane Society said he had "received 25 telephone calls protesting the risk taken by Queenie when she performs on her huge water skis in the Allegheny River"

The article also quoted the curator of mammals at the Carnegie Museum as saying "An elephant is provided with a natural snorkel tube. Elephants like daily baths. They draw water up in their trunks and squirt themselves. I think water-skiing would be all right if the elephant isn't afraid of it and likes to do it."

Additionally, the local Republican county chairman was "highly suspicious of any attempt to eliminate Queenie's act" and quoted as saying "It might be a Democratic plot."

Queenie was retired from the Circus Gatti in 2003 and sent to the Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, Georgia.

Dane never forgot Queenie. She would one day learn that the old saying is true: Elephants never forget. Queenie never forgot Liz Dane.

In 2005, Dane tracked down Queenie to Wild Adventures.

“I spoke her name and her ears went out. She smelled my hands and then my feet. It was as if we had never been apart. I cried. She stood there touching me with her trunk.”

On Mary 30^th, 2011, Queenie was euthanized because of chronic health problems.

“We knew that Queenie’s health had been in decline for some time,” Wild Adventures General Manager Bob Montgomery said in a statement, “and we have been working with other zoo veterinarians to determine the best way to manage Queenie’s chronic health issues. Unfortunately, we had to make a quality of life decision (Monday) morning.”

According to an obituary in the UK's The Guardian, "Queenie was believed to be one of the oldest Asian elephants in North America."