Pioneer in Animal Care and Elephant Sanctuaries

MY IMPACT

Carol Buckley is the founder of Elephant Aid International, with more than 40 years of experience working with captive-held elephants. She developed revolutionary and holistic healthcare programs that support the recovery of elephants while ensuring their autonomy.

MY JOURNEY

In 1974, Carol studied animal management, then she met Tarra, a young elephant in need. The elephant inspired Carol to pursue a long-standing dream to create a way for elephants to live as natural a life as is possible in captivity.

Since then, she rescued 23 more elephants from abusive situations, and created an integrative approach to medical care and trauma recovery to improve elephant welfare standards. In addition to her efforts in the U.S., Carol traveled to Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nepal to assist with international elephant welfare work.

Working in Asia gave Carol an even deeper insight into the lives of captive-held elephants, as many were chained, unable to move more than a few inches in any direction. Carol partnered with the government of Nepal to help the country become the first in Asia to release its elephants from chains.

MY HOPE

Throughout this process, Carol followed her dream to improve elephant care without worrying about what people said. For those interested in pursuing social impact entrepreneurship, Carol recommends listening to your gut, and letting the noise from others go. Women especially are often put into a box of what is expected of them, but it is important to trust yourself and trust the process.

In line with this, Carol admires Greta Thunberg’s passion and willingness to risk people making fun of her. Like Carol, Greta acts on her passion and is willing to face ridicule for what is right.