New Mexican town experiences bewildering population increase....

By John Roberts
14 June 2009 01:16:00

Town planners and county officials from Las Cruces, NM, this week met to discuss the future of their desert oasis following a the phenomenal population increase seen in the months of April in May that has lead to a housing shortage.  Undeterred by the lack of current accommodation, Las Cruces potential residents have added their names to an ever extending waiting list to snap up any property that comes on the market and the more adventurous are braving desert wildlife to camp outside real estate offices in order to be the first to hear of news of current residents' plans to move.

    Those residents, however, have no plans.

    Said a city official, "The sudden increase in applications to live in our wonderful community was in no way unwelcome but the reasons behind it confounded us until we interviewed our new neighbours, they knew about our wonderful restaurants, our award winning way of life and city amenities and they were happy to enjoy them, but the primary reason for moving here was different: it turned out they were all animal lovers and followers of elephant welfare news, and they all came from one agent".

    That agent is Laura Szalay of Living Las Cruces, who has agreed to send a percentage of all her house sales to a forward thinking Thai elephant charity that takes a unique holistic approach to bringing elephants from the city streets and giving them a new life, with their mahouts and families, in a natural jungle environment.

    Said John Roberts, Director of Elephants for the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation who, coincidentally, ate his last genuine burrito plate in Las Cruces before flying out to other adventures "This makes Las Cruces officially the elephant loving-est town in New Mexico, if not the entire mid-west".