Monday August 21, 2017, The Elephant Sanctuary will live-stream the total solar eclipse from live-streaming EleCams in the elephants’ habitats
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Kate Mason
kate@elephants.com
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has announced a Facebook Live streaming event during the total solar eclipse, August 21, 2017. The last time a total solar eclipse was viewable in Tennessee was more than 150 years ago.
Thirteen solar-powered, live-streaming HD ‘EleCams’ are located throughout the elephants’ habitats—these cameras allow the public to observe the elephants undisturbed in their habitats. At The Sanctuary, the solar eclipse will begin close to noon on Aug. 21, 2017 and it will reach totality at 1:30 p.m. The moon will completely cover the sun for about a minute and a half before the sun begins to shine again. During this time, The Sanctuary will be in darkness, and planets and stars will be viewable by the naked eye.
The Sanctuary is unsure how the elephants will react, but are interested to observe—and are excited to live-stream the event for supporters around the globe to witness. Of course, the cameras will go dark for a short period of time, during totality.
For African elephants Flora and Sukari, born in 1982 and 1984 respectively, this will be the first total solar eclipse to occur in their lifetimes. The rest of The Sanctuary’s resident elephants lived through the last total solar eclipse viewable from the contiguous United States, which occurred on Feb. 26, 1979. However, the 1979 eclipse was only visible from the North Western United States and some Canadian provinces, so for many of the elephants living at The Sanctuary who were born before 1979, this will still be a new experience.
Through outreach, education and EleCams, The Sanctuary is working to change public perspectives on the complex needs of elephants in captivity and the crisis facing elephants in the wild—in keeping with this mission, the elephants’ habitats remain closed to the public.
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, located 85 miles southwest of Nashville in Hohenwald, Tenn., provides elephants that have been retired from exhibit or performing with individualized care, the companionship of a herd, and the opportunity to live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their wellbeing. The non-profit Sanctuary also works to raise public awareness of the complex needs of elephants in captivity, and the crisis facing elephants in the wild. For more information, visit www.elephants.com or call (931) 796-6500. The Elephant Discovery Center is located at 27 E Main St, Hohenwald, TN 38462.