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It was dinnertime and Mara and Rana were grazing in neighboring yards, with the gate between them open. When it was time to serve the elephants their food, Rana didn’t seem completely interested and stayed where she was instead of walking toward her caregivers. We opted to close the gate between them so that Mara could start her meal and, once Rana was ready for food, she could enjoy it at her own pace without worrying that Mara would try to sneak a few bites. 

After Rana got hungry and then finished eating, we opened up the gate between the two girls, but they stayed separated. A few minutes later, they started vocalizing and walking quickly toward one another. For some reason, they met up at the fence instead of heading through the gate (which they use often, so they know where it is). Rana had only been in her own yard for about 15 minutes, and yet they were touching each other across the fence as though it had been ages since they’d been together. Still, it took a few minutes before they broke away from each other and walked toward the passageway.

That night, we heard the same types of vocalizations–and the girls sounded like they were in the same spots of the habitat as before. A closer look on the observation camera showed us that, sure enough, they’d managed to arrange themselves in separate yards again. We kept an eye on them and it didn’t take long for the two to find each other. It’s possible that one of them fell asleep and lost track of the other, causing them to make a ruckus when they realized they were alone. It seems that, at night, they just want to be with their friend.

Rana (front) and Mara (back) find each other in separate yards