Two Retired Oklahoma Circus Elephants Now Living In Maine

Two retired circus elephants from Oklahoma are now living at a new facility in Hope, Maine.  Opal and Rosie arrived last week at Hope Elephants which was created by Dr. Jim Laurita.

As News On 6 first reported in August 2011, veterinarian and one-time elephant trainer Dr. Laurita has created a nonprofit group so he could move both Opal and Rosie from southeast Oklahoma to Hope, Maine.

8/11/2011 Vet Working To Move Rosie The Oklahoma Elephant To Maine

Hope is located east of Augusta and south of Bangor near the coast of Maine.

In September 2011, Dr Laurita broke ground on a 3,000 square foot barn, plus an acre of land surrounded by a heavy duty fence.

Both elephants retired from the circus and were living at the Endangered Ark Foundation near Hugo before their move to the northeast U.S.

In the wild, elephants can live up to 60 years. Opal is 41 and Rosie is 43. Each elephant weighs almost 7,200 pounds.

Both animals have leg and muscle issues, which Dr. Laurita says he will be able to treat at his state-of-the-art facility.