Tai the elephant’s bubble still hasn’t burst
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Bubble Artist Fan Yang, who made news last month for a somewhat controversial plan to encase an elephant named Tai in a bubble, announced plans to try it again. The location of the invite-only performance, set for next Tuesday, is being kept under wraps.
Yang, pictured above with Tai, hopes to set a world record for the largest land mammal in a bubble.
Last month’s planned attempt at Santa Ana’s Discovery Science Center was canceled after organizers received hundreds of e-mail complaints and protesters threatened to disrupt the event, calling it cruel and unscientific.
Photo courtesy of Fan Yang
Organizers take care to point out Tai, who hails from a ranch in Perris, is no stranger to transparent orbs:
Bubbles have been introduced as a part of Tai’s behaviorial enrichment program. In preparing Tai for the event we found that all the elephants in the herd, especially the babies, enjoyed playing in the bubbles.
Tai last hit the spotlight when British artist Banksy angered animal activists by painting her in a red and gold pattern to blend into a wallpaper background for an installation in a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, illustrating the phrase ‘an elephant in the room.’
--Tony Barboza