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We’ve spoken before about how we manage our relationships with the elephants using an approach that’s called protected contact, meaning there is always a barrier or significant space (think in terms of football fields) between elephants and humans. It’s part of how we offer them autonomy: we don’t encroach on their space unless we’re welcomed and they have the confidence that they can walk away if they want. Plus, we have to remember that elephants are wild animals and should be treated as such. This week’s EleFact demonstrates how we go about feeding the elephants while still maintaining both respect and an appropriate degree of space.

In the video, Rana is standing at the fence line, since she knows it’s meal time. Sometimes the elephants are already waiting at the fence when caregivers bring the food down and other times they head over when they hear the 4-wheelers getting near. Every once in a while, they decide they want a little more time out in the habitat before breakfast or dinner–and that’s okay. They know they’ll never go without food and trust we’ll be there when they are ready. 

You may notice that Rana’s caregiver Michele gives Rana a bunch of carrots before walking a couple of fence posts away to drop the rest of her meal. The carrots are essentially there to keep Rana standing in one spot so that her food can be safely put on the ground a short distance away. In other words, she gets food as an encouragement to stay in one place while the rest of her food is delivered down the fence line. An elephant like Guillermina would be given even more space and a few more pieces of something smaller because of how fast she can be, especially when food is involved. Even at dinnertime, every elephant gets specially customized care.