Bob: you have to imagine that it was terrifying for her
Bob: because she was still nursing from mom at that point
Bob: wouldn't have known where to go to get food and water and how to keep herself warm,
Bob: she was still learning what it was to be an elephant
Bob: the wounds she received suggested that she had been shot in the face with a shotgun
Bob: over in Borneo in different areas they try to scare the elephants off the palm oil plantations
Bob: they'll use gunshots firecrackers anything they can
Bob: at first she was taken to an elementary school where she was the class elephant so to speak
Bob: the kids took care of her, obviously the government saw that
Bob: and brought her into a rehabilitation center where she lived at the edge of the jungle
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Bob: the Sabah Wildlife Department contacted us because
Bob: they were looking for a new home for Chendra where she would have a
Bob: herd of her own that she could learn from and grow with
Bob: I've been lucky enough to be around Chendra since the day she got here
Bob: I couldn't believe how small she was and
Bob: how well she got around with that one eye
Bob: and really what was so touching is the relationship she had with JB
Bob: the caretaker that came with her
Bob: seeing his bond with Chendra made me realize that
Bob: she was going to be okay.
Bob: Knowing what she came from and what she suffered through
Bob: and to watch her change and grow from a timid very small elephant to a
Bob: full-grown more confident adult has been amazing
Bob: the Sabah Wildlife Department does a great job with these orphans
Bob: they socialize them they try to let them go out and express natural behaviors
Bob: some of them may be returned back out to the wild but others can't be released
Bob: We’re working hard with folks on the front line in Borneo to reduce the human elephant conflict there
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Bob: Chendra is one of the lucky ones
Bob: she was able to come here and get a new elephant family of her own
Bob: ultimately we're all going to have to work together if we're going save the Bornean elephant
Bob: The palm oil plantation owners to the folks who are buying palm oil
Bob: the workers in the field
Bob: and bring them all together in deciding what's best for the animals and what's best for Sabah