Press Room

The Herald-Press (08/30/2000) -- Huntington resident teaches elephant care. For years, Tim Hendrickson has surrounded himself with camels, elephants, and wallabies. And over the years, he's learned a lot about the needs of those animals.

Now, Hendrickson is helping others learn about animal needs.

Hendrickson recently returned from Dallas, where he was one of the instructors for a training course staged by the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. He previously taught the course in Orlando, Fla., and Seattle, Wash.

During the course, Hendrickson taught people how to inspect elephant facilities to make sure their care and living conditions are adequate. Representatives of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service make unannounced inspections of animal quarters operated by zoos, other organizations, and private individuals.

Hendrickson learned about elephant care from Robert "Smokey" Jones, who trained the Ringling Bros.' largest ever herd of elephants.

Hendrickson is the owner/operator of the elephant, camel and pony ride operations, as well as the Parrot Paradise exhibit, at the Philadelphia Zoo, where he works from April through October. He lives in Huntongton during the winter months.

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