Mike Cecere / David Meeks / Arthur Jones

Circus Report 01/27/1986, p. 25

A January 1987 Circus Report lists animal trainer Mike Cecere with 12 elephants in New Jersey - an Asian female, three African males and 8 African females.

Elephants currently being handled by Mike Cecere, in New Jersey, are:

Donna, 20 year old Asian.
African males, 3 1/2 years - Boy, Hoxie and George.
Afrian females - Reba, Sheba, Maya, Betty, Abby, Angela and Marrisa.

( Both Reba and Sheba are owned by the Double Ranch Enterprises, Arthur T. Brown, Hastings, NY. They are soon to make their debut in shows in New York and New England ).

Many of these elephants are undocumented by other sources, but all seemingly originated from the Little Mountain Zoo under David Meeks. A part-time animal dealer, Meeks was contracted to sell the herd of Arthur Jones, totaling near 100 head.

The Asian elephant Donna was acquired by Meeks from a private ranch in Georgia, originally from the Peoria, Illinois, zoo under Joe Frisco Sr.

No further information can be found on the three African males. The George Carden Circus International purchased a group of Africans from the Jones herd ( George, Gina, Joyce, Linda ) but it is not confirmed this is the same George.

The African females Reba and Sheba were owned by Arthur Brown as stated above. A third elephant, a male named Rhodes, was also part of his group in New York. Per Harry Kingston of Texas, both females were purchased for $10,000 each and the male for $6,000. Mike Cecere was still caring for the single African female Reba at the Brown farm as of December 2010.

The Afrian females Maya, Marrisa & Betty were listed in a Circus Report five months later, along with Donna, at Meeks' Little Mountain Park Zoo in Inman, South Carolina. No further information can be found regarding these three females, nor any information regarding Abby or Angela.