Carol Buckley

Carol Buckley is the Executive Director and Co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary. Carol has nearly 29 years experience in the care and management of Asian elephants. For nearly fifteen years Carol traveled the US, Canada and abroad performing in a number of circuses, including Circus Gatini in Quebec, Canada and the Big Apple Circus in New York. She has implemented educational demonstrations for a number of zoos throughout North America, including Santa Barbara Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, Nashville Zoo, and Granby Zoo in Quebec, Canada. Carol has an extensive background in developing elephant management programs and providing animal medical care.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, founded in 1995, is the nation's largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered African and Asian elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses. It operates on 2,700 acres in Hohenwald, Tennessee - 85 miles southwest of Nashville.

Before founding The Elephant Sanctuary, Carol owned and operated her own elephant management company, Tarra Productions, for twenty years. Her experience with Tarra Productions included promoting, exhibiting and maintaining, Tarra, a female Asian elephant, and studio work for television and motion pictures.