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Last Chain On Billie: How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped The Big Top

Last Chain On Billie: How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped The Big Top

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Left in the wild, Billie the elephant would have spent her life surrounded by her family, free to wander the jungles of Asia. Instead, she was captured as a baby and shipped to America where she arrived in the mid 1950s, long before circus and zoo-goers worried about animal living conditions. Billie spent her first years confined in a tiny zoo yard giving rides to children. At 19, she was sold and groomed for life in the circus. Billie mastered difficult tricks such as balancing on her hind legs, walking on her front legs, and performing one-foot handstands. For twenty-three years she dazzled audiences, but she lived a life of neglect and abuse. As years passed, Billie rebelled. When she attacked and injured her trainer, a federal inspector ordered her taken off the road. For a decade she languished in a dusty barn. Finally, fate intervened. The U.S. Department of Agriculture removed Billie and fifteen other elephants as part of the largest elephant rescue in American history. Billie wound up at a sanctuary for performing elephants in Tennessee at 45, but she experienced anxiety in her new environment and refused to let anyone remove a chain still clamped around her leg. Last Chain on Billie charts the growing movement to rescue performing elephants from lives of misery, and tells the story of how one emotionally damaged elephant overcame her past and learned to trust humans again.

Details of Book

ISBN13: 9781250068644
ISBN10: 1250068649
Language: English
Publication Year: 2015
Format: Paperback

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A note on book covers: while we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

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  • One Line Summary

    Heroic elephant's journey from captivity to trust.

  • Who is this book for?

    If you're interested in animal rescue stories and the resilience of misunderstood creatures, this book is a powerful read. Billie's story highlights both the cruelty faced by performing animals and their incredible ability to heal when given kindness and care. It's an inspiring tale about overcoming trauma and finding hope in unexpected places.

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