That’s a terrific quote from Nat Geo talking about an elephant!

So I started out completely in awe of this video, then, perhaps this is a bit of a cynical (or maybe just compassionate) perspective, I started wondering about the treatment of the elephant. Is this purely for performance sake, to entertain the deep-pocketed tourist? Or is it a fascinating brush (pardon the pun) with what could be the beginning of mainstream humans glimpsing man-made art being… well… elephant-made? And what are the implications of this? Does the elephant feel any sense of joy? And more importantly, does the 4-legged artist get extra peanuts at snack break? Or maybe additional romp time with its pals? Or is it just the gorgeous, long-lashed, long-legged, very gifted and talented ones that get all the play?

I started searching around online and per National Geographic: “About half of the money from sales of elephant art at Novica will go directly to elephant sanctuaries in Southeast Asia.

“Only in America,” said Komar, “could some crazy, idealistic idea become pragmatic charity.”