Tennessee? That's right. Barbara, Jenny and Tarra live in the Elephant Sanctuary, the only natural-habitat elephant refuge in the U.S. The sanctuary is about 65 miles south of Nashville.

Three years ago, Carol Buckley teamed up with Scott Blaise to create a safe place for retired circus elephants. Buckley, 44, had worked with elephants for more than 24 years. Blaise, 25, had trained elephants since he was 13. Both had seen elephants chained, yelled at and forced to perform. They were convinced that such rough handling shortens the life of these endangered animals. (Fewer than 45,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild.)

In 1995 Buckley and Blaise bought 800 acres of woods and pasture in Tennessee. They built a large heated barn, added an electric fence and opened the Elephant Sanctuary. Its purpose: to provide a place where sick, old and needy elephants can walk the earth in peace and dignity.

Elephants are not expected to work or be on display. However, one camera perched in the pasture monitors the elephants, and the animals sometimes appear on the sanctuary's website (www.elephants.com).

Falling in Love with Tarra
Tarra was the first resident of the sanctuary. She was born in Thailand and sold to a California businessman when she was six months old. The adorable 400-pound baby was used to advertise cars.

When Buckley was a college student, she volunteered to help train Tarra. Buckley soon fell in love. In 1974 she borrowed $25,000 and bought Tarra. For the next 20 years, they performed at fairs and circuses. Tarra learned to do all sorts of tricks. She could play the harmonica, do a hula dance and even roller-skate!

Gradually, Buckley realized that Tarra shouldn't have to do tricks for a living. Buckley began working at zoos, where Tarra could live free of charge. Buckley dreamed of running a haven for abused elephants--a place, she says, where "elephants could just be elephants." Today Buckley's dream is Tarra's retirement home.

Bring on More Elephants!
Barbara and Jenny joined Tarra at the sanctuary in 1996. When Barbara arrived, she was terribly frail and thin. She was 2,000 pounds underweight. Because of her unattractive looks, her owners had kept her isolated.

Jenny is another show-biz reject. Her owners dumped her at an animal shelter in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Elephant Sanctuary has provided the elephants with care, food and companionship. Elephants are social animals and enjoy living in herds. Buckley and Blaise plan to increase the size of the sanctuary's herd. One day, they hope to have as many as 100 elephants free to roam the pastures and live out their long lives without fear of hunters or predators. The sanctuary offers captive elephants a rare treat: a taste of freedom.