[1798] in Humor
HUMOR: Only a dollar a pound
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Andrew Bennett)
Mon Jan 6 21:40:43 1997
Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 21:31:53 -0500
To: humor@MIT.EDU
From: abennett@MIT.EDU (Andrew Bennett)
From: Espacionaute Spiff domine! <MATOSSIAN@aries.colorado.edu>
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 1997 12:05:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Keith Bostic <bostic@bsdi.com>
Forwarded-by: Joseph Harper <joeha@MICROSOFT.com>
Ontario, California:
The in-flight meal for this traveling star was hardly your typical
microwaved fare: four bales of hay, 50 pounds of carrots and oranges.
But then, it's not every day that an 8,000-pound Asian elephant hops a
flight to Hawaii, not to mention a near-Noah's Ark of zebras, monkeys,
toucans and dik-diks all shipped via UPS next-day delivery service.
But Thursday night, a 747 owned by United Parcel Service flew an estimated
30,000 pounds of live animals that will star in Disney's upcoming movie,
"George of the Jungle."
The 28-year-old elephant, named Tai, posed for photographs with some UPS
employees while being walked to her storage bin.
Tai belongs to Gary Johnson of Have Trunk Will Travel, an elephant ranch
in Perris. Many of his eight elephants are involved in breeding programs
with North American zoos. Some have starred in commercials, television
and movies.
Tai is special. She's starred in "Operation Dumbo Drop," "Larger Than
Life" and "The Jungle Book."
She's also a frequent flyer of sorts.
"She's flown to Thailand and back. She's flown from Florida to L.A.,"
Johnson said. "I don't think she'll have a problem."
Her travel companions included two zebras; a pair of dik-diks, which
resemble small antelopes; four monkeys; and a couple of toucans.
At Ontario International Airport, all were guided into standing room bins
and loaded onto the plane last so they could be the first off. They're
coming home January 17.
UPS agreed to the delivery after developing a certain attachment to
animals. The company was instrumental in helping relocate Keiko, the orca
whale which starred in "Free Willy," from Mexico to Oregon.
"We had a lot of luck with Keiko, so why not?" UPS Chief Operating Officer
Brenda Hiza said. "We'll see how this one goes."
The animals flew with regular packages destined for the Aloha State.
UPS officials refused comment on how much the service cost Disney. But
they said overnight delivery for packages runs about $1 a pound.
