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VOLUME UP! Rana and Mara usually get treatments every other day, most of the time after breakfast. Sometimes they’ll come into the barn together or one will stay in the vicinity while the other is having a session. On this day, Mara went out into Yard 1 near the barn while Rana was having her foot soaks done, but she didn’t stay quiet for long. 

Mara was wading into the mud wallow and you can see that her legs are wet almost all the way up. As she splashed, we heard a trumpet and looked up to Mara heading briskly toward Rana, vocalizing and walking at a really quick pace for such a grandma. Of course, treatments like the one Rana was getting weren’t an emergency and we could come back to them later, especially since she had already finished her soaks. Instead, it seemed like a better idea for the two ladies to have some time together, especially since we want to celebrate their relationship and there was so much excitement in the air. In those moments, Rana wants to join her sister and celebrate whatever intangible thing they feel is worth it, so we give her that opportunity. 

The two elephants calmed down a little bit once Scott got near. Obviously, caregivers weren’t able to catch the early moments of Mara’s run toward Rana since they were concentrating on working with Rana, but the few minutes after are still joyous to watch.

P.S.: You might notice that Rana has a medicated spot on the side of her front right leg. She has a pressure sore that is over a decade old, most likely from lying on hard surfaces or an old bullhook wound that morphed into a pressure sore. We first noticed it before she came to sanctuary and her vet said they had never treated it. Even now it has not fully healed, but in order to prevent infection, it is treated and medicated regularly. It has shrunk since being here, and there is a company in the US that makes and adjusts an ointment specifically for her. But when dealing with a decades old wound, especially a pressure sore, you don’t always get full recovery.