OBS Talk Show Presents - S6E33

**OBS Radio announcer/station identification** (0:00)
This is OBS Radio, a service of OBS International, a division of Greater Works Business Services.

**Margie Menzel** (0:26)
Earlier this month, we brought you the story of Mundy the Elephant. For 35 years, Mundy lived in a tiny enclosure at the Puerto Rico Zoo, just a quarter of an acre. And she lived a solitary life as the zoo slowly declined and was eventually ordered to shut down earlier this year.
Now Mundy's living at an elephant refuge in Georgia. And as Margie Menzel of WFSU reports, she's making friends.

**Margie Menzel** (0:52)
When Mundy first arrived in Georgia, she was kept apart from the other elephants by a fence.
Carol Buckley, who cares for the animals here, says she wasn't sure how the others would react. But one of them, called Tara, took an interest right away.

**Carol Buckley** (1:08)
I'm kind of in shock. I wanted to feed Mundy and Tara close together. And so I fed Tara over here. She picked up her food and brought it right over to the fence line here so she could be eating with Mundy.
So you tell me what that means. I think that is really good.

**Margie Menzel** (1:27)
Buckley is the founder of Elephant Aid International. She led the team that brought Mundy from Puerto Rico.

**Carol Buckley** (1:33)
And the goal has always been that once she is comfortable, then she will be out with them.

**Margie Menzel** (1:38)
Yeah.

**Carol Buckley** (1:39)
But it would be inappropriate for us to rush it. We want to see them together.

**Margie Menzel** (1:44)
That elephant talking there was 36-year-old Bo. He also welcomed Mundy at the fence, and once it was taken down, he became her playmate. The three elephants now share 850 acres.
In her former life, Mundy was on public display. Not now. Even the volunteers here can observe them only from afar, as Phil Kirikoff does.

**Phil Kirikoff** (2:08)
And now to watch how both of them interact with Mundy, it's really fascinating to watch.

**Margie Menzel** (2:16)
Elephants are intelligent and social.
They especially respond to reunions, the birth of a new calf, or the death of a loved one. They're capable of complex emotions, and Buckley says they're sensitive to what's happening around them.

**Carol Buckley** (2:31)
They feel all the vibration and energy that comes into their area, which is one of the reasons we're not open to the public, because I can't control people's energy.

**Margie Menzel** (2:38)
The refuge has been taking in elephants for two years now. It's designed as a retirement community of sorts for those that have been working in zoos and circuses or privately owned, says Buckley.

**Carol Buckley** (2:50)
They're recovering from the trauma that they experienced living in captivity. And for them to open up and trust you while you are there with them, helping them work through it, it's indescribable.

**Margie Menzel** (3:05)
A month ago, Buckley thanked the people of Puerto Rico for letting Moondee go to a better life. The elephant is now free to roam, surrounded by her new friends.
For NPR News, I'm Margie Menzel in Tallahassee.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:42)
Thank The dominant political story of the year has been the 270-day-long speakership of Representative Kevin McCarthy, whose slim majority in the House of Representatives has enabled a far-right rebellion to exert more weight over the lower chamber. The battle between the rebellious Freedom Caucus and McCarthy has been at the heart of an averted debt ceiling crisis and the annual budget debate nearly devolving into a government shutdown, all culminating in the removal of McCarthy on October 3 Third, the debate over abortion has further continued, with numerous laws being passed by state legislatures and court decisions issued at all levels over the issue with last year's overturning of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey with Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Political and media attention also has focused on a series of alleged Chinese spy balloons entering US airspace, various candidates entering the race for the following year's presidential election, legal issues surrounding former president Donald Trump and to a lesser extent representative George Santos, and the continued intensity of a culture war most notably escalated by an ongoing feud between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company over the state's parental rights in Education Act 2023 also saw the roots of a global banking crisis arise out of four American regional banks, the two largest being Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank. 2021's inflation surge moderated in 2023, while the Federal Reserve continued to raise its interest rates in the first half of the year. The rise of artificial intelligence and large language models dominated not only the economy but has also been at the root of a Hollywood double strike conducted by Writers Guild of America and a SAG APTRA strike, these were part of a larger phenomenon of labor strikes across the country, in which such large diverse groups, such as Teamsters and Auto Workers won new contracts. Additionally, the latter half of the year saw many large mergers and acquisitions, some of the largest announcements being in oil and gas with ExxonMobil's purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources for nearly $60 billion and Chevron's acquisition of Hess Corporation for $50 billion, both in October and pending regulatory approval prior to closure. Mass shootings in 2023 have also continued in high numbers, with 528 occurring as of October 2 according to Gun Violence Archive. Additionally in 2023, as of November 8, the US experienced 25 weather and climate disasters which caused at least $1 billion in damage each. Elections were held on November 7, 2023 This was an off-year election where neither the president or vice president were on the ballot. Seats in the US Congress were not up for election either, save for special elections. One vacancy in the Senate opened up this year due to the death of Dianne Feinstein, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Lafonza Butler to serve the remainder of Feinstein's term. Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi held elections for their governors, lieutenant governors, state treasurers, attorney generals, and state agriculture commissioners. The cities of Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Memphis, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City elected their mayors. January. January 1 Books, films, and other works published in 1927 enter the public domain 24 The FDA designates sesame seeds as one of the major food allergens 25 January 2, 2022 NFL season, Buffalo Bills player Damer Hamlin collapses from cardiac arrest after a tackle, causing the Bills game against the Cincinnati Bengals to be canceled and deemed as a no contest 26-27. January 3 The 118th United States Congress convenes following the 2022 midterm elections 28 for the next four days, 15 sessions transpire to determine the Speaker of the House of Representatives. This is the first time that a House Speaker was not determined by an initial vote in over 99 years 29 The final of several related shootings which allegedly target Democrats occurs at the home of a Democratic politician in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There are no deaths or injuries 30 Amber McLaughlin becomes the first transgender death row inmate executed in the United States 31 January 4, European Union regulators issue a $414 million fine against meta-platforms for violating the General Data Protection Regulation on Facebook and INST AGRAM 32 A mass shooting occurs inside a house in Enoch, Utah. Eight members of a single family, consisting of three adults and five children, are killed, with their bodies being found by police during a welfare check 33-34-35. January 5, The South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down the state's six-week abortion ban, ruling it violates the state's Constitution 36 The Idaho Supreme Court upholds the state's ban on abortion in a 3A2 ruling 37