You can also read the story with photos and find out about fostering baby elephants here.

Baby elephant tortured into submission before illegal smuggling from Burma to Thailand.

baby elephant tortured in the name of "training"

The photographer mentions two organizations doing work that could stop that scene from happening again; what, how many hundreds more times? Contribute to one of them if you can.
Elephant Nature Park and Elephant Conservation Network
It should go without saying that if you’re visiting Thailand, please don’t ride the elephants!

Elephant lives and habitats are at risk in every place they call home, and in Africa they’re being maimed by poachers’ wires if not killed outright. You can help baby African elephants orphaned by poaching, and assist strong conservation work by giving to the Sheldrick Trust. Knowing this place exists, and having seen the sweet babies playing together and the love of the care givers firsthand, helps a little.
But their mothers are still dead.

Photo by Piet Oudolf, from his Hummelo garden.

For more see

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/02/10/garden/20110210-garden.html

On December 21 and 22, Bird performs in the space. These Sonic Events are not traditional concerts: Bird plays violin and manipulates the sounds while people move through the installation space.”

Andrew Bird and Ian Schneller’s Sonic Arboretum from WBEZ on Vimeo.

-heard on WBEZ radio. Too bad the concerts are sold out.

What the heck is this tree and why does it have the temerity to bloom its head off now?