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{{For|the Melbourne Zoo elephant|Queenie (elephant)}}
{{For|the Melbourne Zoo elephant|Queenie (Melbourne elephant)}}
[[File:Liz Dane with Queenie (waterskiing elephant).jpg|thumb|Queenie waterskiing with Liz Dane, {{circa}} 1958]]
[[File:Liz Dane with Queenie (waterskiing elephant).jpg|thumb|300px|Queenie waterskiing with Liz Dane, {{circa}} 1958]]
'''Queenie''' (1952 – May 31, 2011) was a [[Captivity (animal)|captive]] female [[Asian elephant]]. She was noted in the late 1950s and early 1960s for [[waterskiing]] for entertainment.
'''Queenie''' (1952 – May 31, 2011) was a [[Captivity (animal)|captive]] female [[Asian elephant]]. She was noted in the late 1950s and early 1960s for [[waterskiing]] for entertainment.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Queenie was born [[Wildlife|wild]] in 1952 in [[Thailand]]. She was imported to the [[United States]] and put on sale in the [[Henry Trefflich|Trefflich pet store]] in [[New York City]]. In 1953, at 6 months of age she was sold to Bill Green, and his daughter Elisabeth (Liz) Green. The pre-arranged purchase was filmed by [[Today (U.S. TV program)|The Today Show]]. The 250-bound baby elephant was later taken to a private zoo in [[Fairlee, Vermont]].<ref name="Whitcomb-2009" /><ref name="Kilby-2009" /><ref name="Beasly-2011" />
Queenie was born [[Wildlife|wild]] in 1952 in [[Thailand]]. She was exported to the [[United States]] and put on sale in the [[Henry Trefflich|Trefflich pet store]] in [[New York City]]. In 1953, at 6 months of age she was sold to Bill Green, and his daughter, Liz. The pre-arranged purchase was filmed by [[Today (U.S. TV program)|''The Today Show'']]. The 250-pound baby elephant was later taken to a private zoo in [[Fairlee, Vermont]].<ref name="Whitcomb-2009" /><ref name="Kilby-2009" /><ref name="Beasly-2011" />


==Career==
==Career==
Line 23: Line 23:


==Later years==
==Later years==
Queenie was retired from the Circus Gatti in 2003 and sent to the [[Wild Adventures]] theme park in [[Valdosta, Georgia]].<ref name="Harper-2011" /><ref name="Elephant-Enyclopedia" /><ref name="Batty-2011" /> In 2011, she was [[Euthanasia|euthanized]] because of chronic health problems.<ref name="Batty-2011" /><ref name="Poling-2011" /><ref name="Flagg-2011" /><ref name="WALB-2011" /> According to an obituary in the British [[Daily Mail]], "she was believed to be one of the oldest Asian elephants in North America."<ref name="DM-2011" />
Queenie was retired from the Circus Gatti in 2003 and sent to the [[Wild Adventures]] theme park in [[Valdosta, Georgia]].<ref name="Harper-2011" /><ref name="Elephant-Enyclopedia" /><ref name="Batty-2011" /> In 2011, she was [[Euthanasia|euthanized]] because of chronic health problems.<ref name="Batty-2011" /><ref name="Poling-2011" /><ref name="Flagg-2011" /><ref name="WALB-2011" /> According to an obituary in the UK's ''[[The Guardian]]'', "she was believed to be one of the oldest Asian elephants in North America."<ref name="Guardian-2011" />


==See also==
==See also==
* [[List of historical elephants]]
* [[Captive elephants]]
* [[Elephant cognition]]
* [[List of individual elephants]]
* [[Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel]]
* [[Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel]]


==External links==
==External links==
{{external media
{{external media
| align = right
| float = right
| width =
| width =
| video1 = [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp09lk_kZCU The World's Only Water-Skiing Elephant] from the [[Daytona Beach News-Journal]]. (Provided by Liz Dane)
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp09lk_kZCU The World's Only Water-Skiing Elephant] from the [[Daytona Beach News-Journal]]. (Provided by Liz Dane)
| audio1 = [http://myfloridahistory.org/audio/download/427/FFProgram012a.mp3 Queenie, the Water Skiing Elephant, interview with Liz Dane (MP3)] from ''Florida Frontiers'' radio show, episode 12 [http://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/shows/012], from the [[Florida Historical Society]]
| audio1 = [https://web.archive.org/web/20111125103206/http://myfloridahistory.org/audio/download/427/FFProgram012a.mp3 Queenie, the Water Skiing Elephant, interview with Liz Dane (MP3)] from ''Florida Frontiers'' radio show, episode 12 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111125090605/http://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/shows/012], from the [[Florida Historical Society]]
| image1 = [http://news.yahoo.com/photos/undated-1958-photo-provided-courtesy-liz-dane-dane-photo-020509684.html Liz Dane performing with Queenie the water skiing elephant in 1958.] from the [[Associated Press]]. (Provided by Liz Dane)
| image1 = [https://web.archive.org/web/20160203160410/http://news.yahoo.com/photos/undated-1958-photo-provided-courtesy-liz-dane-dane-photo-020509684.html Liz Dane performing with Queenie the water skiing elephant in 1958.] from the [[Associated Press]]. (Provided by Liz Dane)
| image2 = [http://books.google.com/books?id=TWfbHFP586AC&lpg=PA10&dq=Queenie%20elephant%20waterski&pg=PA10#v=onepage&f=false Queenie, the water-skiing elephant, and trainer Elisabeth Green, 1960s] from the book ''Images of America - Along the Connecticut River'' by Phyllis Lavelle, published by [[Arcadia Publishing]]
| image2 = [https://books.google.com/books?id=TWfbHFP586AC&dq=Queenie%20elephant%20waterski&pg=PA10 Queenie, the water-skiing elephant, and trainer Elisabeth Green, 1960s] from the book ''Images of America - Along the Connecticut River'' by Phyllis Lavelle, published by [[Arcadia Publishing]]
}}
}}
* {{cite journal
* {{cite journal
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|author = Dane, Elizabeth G.
|author = Dane, Elizabeth G.
|issue = March/April 2008
|issue = March/April 2008
|work = [[Yankee (magazine)]]
|journal = [[Yankee (magazine)|Yankee]]
|date = 20 February 2008
}}
}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|1|refs=
{{Reflist|1|refs=
<ref name="Elephant-Enyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3009 |title=Queenie at Wild Adventures |publisher=Elephant Encyclopedia |date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529170648/http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3009 |archivedate=May 29, 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name="Elephant-Enyclopedia">{{cite web
|url = http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3009
|title = Queenie at Wild Adventures
|publisher = Elephant Encyclopedia
|date = June 4, 2011
⚫
}}</ref>


<ref name="Tifde-1965">{{cite news
<ref name="Tifde-1965">{{cite news
|url = http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Mq5IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FgENAAAAIBAJ&pg=957%2C242223
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Mq5IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FgENAAAAIBAJ&pg=957%2C242223
|title = No Elephant Joke, Queenie Does Ski
|title = No Elephant Joke, Queenie Does Ski
|author = Tifde, Tom
|author = Tifde, Tom
Line 65: Line 63:


<ref name="UPI-1959">{{cite news
<ref name="UPI-1959">{{cite news
|url = http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NrMhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pJsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3944%2C3154838
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NrMhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pJsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3944%2C3154838
|title = Man Saves Elephant From Drowning
|title = Man Saves Elephant From Drowning
|author = [[United Press International]]
|author = United Press International
|author-link = United Press International
|date = June 9, 1959
|date = June 9, 1959
|work = via [[Reading Eagle]]
|work = via [[Reading Eagle]]
Line 73: Line 72:


<ref name="PPG-1959-06-11">{{cite news
<ref name="PPG-1959-06-11">{{cite news
|url = http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f8tRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5290,1781629
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f8tRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5290,1781629
|title = Queenie May Get Skids On Skis In Skit Here
|title = Queenie May Get Skids On Skis In Skit Here
|date = June 11, 1959
|date = June 11, 1959
Line 80: Line 79:


<ref name="PPG-1959-06-13">{{cite news
<ref name="PPG-1959-06-13">{{cite news
|url = http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gctRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1685%2C2109935
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gctRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1685%2C2109935
|work =Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|work =Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
|date = June 13, 1959
|date = June 13, 1959
Line 92: Line 91:
|work = [[Concord Monitor]]
|work = [[Concord Monitor]]
|date = July 18, 2006
|date = July 18, 2006
⚫
}}</ref>
}} {{dead link|date=October 2012}}</ref>


<ref name="Whitcomb-2009">{{cite web
<ref name="Whitcomb-2009">{{cite web
|url = http://www.uppervalleylife.com/pdf/rare_bird.pdf
|url = http://www.uppervalleylife.com/pdf/rare_bird.pdf
|format = PDF
|title = Animals of the World in Fairlee, Vt. Backyard
|title = Animals of the World in Fairlee, Vt. Backyard
|author = Whitcomb, Laura jean
|author = Whitcomb, Laura jean
Line 128: Line 126:
<ref name="Poling-2011">{{cite news
<ref name="Poling-2011">{{cite news
|url = http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x564435758/Wild-Adventures-Queenie-the-elephant-dies
|url = http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x564435758/Wild-Adventures-Queenie-the-elephant-dies
|title = Wild Adventures’ Queenie the elephant dies
|title = Wild Adventures' Queenie the elephant dies
|author = Poling, Dean
|author = Poling, Dean
|date = June 1, 2011
|date = June 1, 2011
Line 143: Line 141:


<ref name="Beasly-2011">{{cite news
<ref name="Beasly-2011">{{cite news
|url = http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/03/us-elephant-death-idUSTRE7526G920110603
|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-elephant-death-idUSTRE7526G920110603
|title = Water-skiing Asian elephant dies in Georgia at 58
|title = Water-skiing Asian elephant dies in Georgia at 58
|author = Beasley, David
|author = Beasley, David
Line 151: Line 149:


<ref name="Batty-2011">{{cite news
<ref name="Batty-2011">{{cite news
|url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/03/queenie-water-skiing-elephant-dies
|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/03/queenie-water-skiing-elephant-dies
|title = Queenie, the waterskiing elephant, dies
|title = Queenie, the waterskiing elephant, dies
|author = Batty, David
|author = Batty, David
Line 158: Line 156:
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


<ref name="DM-2011">{{cite news
<ref name="Guardian-2011">{{cite news
|url = https://www.theguardian.com/p/2pge5/tf
|url = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393823/Queenie-worlds-water-skiing-elephant-dies-aged-59-theme-park-retired.html
|title = Queenie, the world's only water skiing elephant, dies aged 59 at theme park where she retired
|title = Queenie, the waterskiing elephant, dies
|author = Staff
|author = Staff
|date = June 3, 2011
|date = June 3, 2011
|work = [[Daily Mail]]
|work = [[The Guardian]]
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


Line 177: Line 175:
}}
}}


⚫
[[Category:Individual elephants]]
[[Category:2011 animal deaths]]
[[Category:2011 animal deaths]]
[[Category:Animal deaths by euthanasia]]
[[Category:Waterskiing]]
[[Category:Waterskiing]]
[[Category:Elephants in popular culture]]
⚫
[[Category:Individual elephants in the United States]]

Latest revision as of 03:47, 7 June 2024

For the Melbourne Zoo elephant, see Queenie (Melbourne elephant).
Queenie waterskiing with Liz Dane, c. 1958

Queenie (1952 – May 31, 2011) was a captive female Asian elephant. She was noted in the late 1950s and early 1960s for waterskiing for entertainment.

Early life

[edit]

Queenie was born wild in 1952 in Thailand. She was exported to the United States and put on sale in the Trefflich pet store in New York City. In 1953, at 6 months of age she was sold to Bill Green, and his daughter, Liz. The pre-arranged purchase was filmed by The Today Show. The 250-pound baby elephant was later taken to a private zoo in Fairlee, Vermont.[1][2][3]

Career

[edit]

Queenie and Dane's act made appearances at state and county fairs, TV shows, and circuses around the country. During the show, Queenie and Dane would water ski, play the harmonica, and dance.

Marj and Jim Rusing, the owners of a Florida tourist attraction called De Leon Springs, introduced Queenie to water skiing in 1950's. Queenie was billed as "The World's Only Water Skiing Elephant" after she replaced the world's first water skiing elephant, Sunshine Sally.[4]

Liz Dane said Queenie was not being mistreated, "She thoroughly loved skiing. She would put her trunk in the water and get a big scoop of water and spray it all over the place! She loved it. Elephants can swim, That particular area, the water wasn't that deep. And even if she did spill over, they can swim. There was no danger."[3][4]

In 1965, she appeared in a series of print advertisement for the Mercury outboard motors company.[5] She also appeared on The Tonight Show and on I've Got a Secret.[2][4][6]

In 1967 Queenie was sold to an "elephant performance team" in Michigan. In 1981 she was sold to Circus Gatti.[7]

Pittsburgh Incident

[edit]

In June, 1959 during an appearance at the Bicentennial Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, waves from a passing towboat caused Queenie to fall off her skis. Bill Green, who had been waterskiing next to Queenie, held her snorkel above the water until a crane was found and used to haul the elephant out of the water.[6][8][9]

According to a news article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the director of the local Humane Society said he had "received 25 telephone calls protesting the risk taken by Queenie when she performs on her huge water skis in the Allegheny River." The article also quoted the curator of mammals at the Carnegie Museum as saying "An elephant is provided with a natural snorkel tube. Elephants like daily baths. They draw water up in their trunks and squirt themselves. I think water-skiing would be all right if the elephant isn't afraid of it and likes to do it." Additionally, the local Republican county chairman was "highly suspicious of any attempt to eliminate Queenie's act" and quoted as saying "It might be a Democratic plot."[10]

Later years

[edit]

Queenie was retired from the Circus Gatti in 2003 and sent to the Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, Georgia.[7][11][12] In 2011, she was euthanized because of chronic health problems.[12][13][14][15] According to an obituary in the UK's The Guardian, "she was believed to be one of the oldest Asian elephants in North America."[16]

See also

[edit]
[edit]
External media
Images
image icon Liz Dane performing with Queenie the water skiing elephant in 1958. from the Associated Press. (Provided by Liz Dane)
image icon Queenie, the water-skiing elephant, and trainer Elisabeth Green, 1960s from the book Images of America - Along the Connecticut River by Phyllis Lavelle, published by Arcadia Publishing
Audio
audio icon Queenie, the Water Skiing Elephant, interview with Liz Dane (MP3) from Florida Frontiers radio show, episode 12 [1], from the Florida Historical Society
Video
video icon The World's Only Water-Skiing Elephant from the Daytona Beach News-Journal. (Provided by Liz Dane)
  • Dane, Elizabeth G. (20 February 2008). "Only in New England: An Elephant Never Forgets". Yankee (March/April 2008).

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Whitcomb, Laura jean (June 24, 2009). "Animals of the World in Fairlee, Vt. Backyard" (PDF). Upper Valley Life Magazine (Hanover, New Hampshire). pp. 50–54.
  2. ^ a b Kilby, Rick (December 2, 2009). "Liz and Queenie (the Water Skiing Elephant of Ponce de Leon Springs)".
  3. ^ a b Beasley, David (June 3, 2011). "Water-skiing Asian elephant dies in Georgia at 58". Reuters.
  4. ^ a b c Williamson, Ronald (October 2, 2009). "Water-skiing elephant at DeLeon Springs". The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
  5. ^ Tifde, Tom (September 2, 1965). "No Elephant Joke, Queenie Does Ski". Meriden Journal. Newspaper Enterprise Association.
  6. ^ a b Liebowitz, Sarah (July 18, 2006). "Queenie and friend reunited". Concord Monitor.
  7. ^ a b Harper, Mark (June 1, 2011). "Water-skiing elephant dies". The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
  8. ^ United Press International (June 9, 1959). "Man Saves Elephant From Drowning". via Reading Eagle.
  9. ^ "Any Lady Elephant Has a Mind of Her Own - Ski or No Ski Up to Queenie". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 13, 1959.
  10. ^ "Queenie May Get Skids On Skis In Skit Here". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 11, 1959.
  11. ^ "Queenie at Wild Adventures". Elephant Encyclopedia. June 4, 2011. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012.
  12. ^ a b Batty, David (June 3, 2011). "Queenie, the waterskiing elephant, dies". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Poling, Dean (June 1, 2011). "Wild Adventures' Queenie the elephant dies". The Valdosta Daily Times.
  14. ^ Flagg, Bryan (June 10, 2011). "Famous Elephant With Local Ties, Dies At Age 58". Northcountry News (New Hampshire). p. A1, A3.
  15. ^ "Famous elephant dies at Wild Adventures". WALB News. June 3, 2011.
  16. ^ Staff (June 3, 2011). "Queenie, the waterskiing elephant, dies". The Guardian.
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