ZOO NEWS

There was a novel item on sale at Beerwah's Great Garage Sale (held annually at Australia Zoo) on Saturday - Elephant poo paper!

Charmaine Wheatley, a volunteer from a local Rotary group came up with a recipe after speaking to Luke, our Head of Elephants. With an average elephant producing roughly 70kg of dung every day, and with an average dung ball (weighing 250g) making 20 sheets of A4 paper, there was definitely no shortage of raw materials! The resulting items that made it to the Garage Sale, priced from a gold coin up to $40, were extremely popular and flew off the stands, with all proceeds going towards our elephant conservation projects, supporting Asian elephants in Sumatra and the critical habitat regions of Cambodia. Wooo-hoo!

For those curious, here's how you make paper from elephant dung:

• Collect elephant dung
• Rinse in a bucket to break up the mixture
• Boil in a pot for six hours
• Add secret ingredient - shredded paper!
• Blend until smooth
• Add colours and dye if you wish
• Pour smooth mixture in to a large bath and float evenly to form a smooth, even surface
• Squeeze excess water out
• Allow to dry in the sun for a few hours
• Iron flat

Get Involved, Make A Difference and sponsor our Elephant Conservation Project!