A Day Spent Grazing Near Her Old Friend

Rana spent all of yesterday grazing near Ramba’s grave in Yard 4. The office is on a hill with a bit of an overlook, and from the porch (Scott’s favorite place for morning coffee), you can see Ramba’s grave. We aren’t sure when Rana headed that way, but she was in the vicinity by Scott’s 6 a.m. (ish) coffee yesterday and spent the remainder of the day there, grazing.

She didn’t seem sad; in fact, she hasn’t appeared very sad in general lately. Grief is a process, so we still expect it to pop up in her at times. Overall, she has been quite happy and full of squeaks recently.

At the gravesite, she was sleepy, but also very bright and soft when we visited her. She didn’t seem to have any sadness or heaviness. It looked like Maia was on her way to visit Rana yesterday at dinnertime. We fed Maia where she was (by the creek) before leaving them for the night. We think Maia eventually made her way to Rana for a visit by Ramba’s grave as they were together in Yard 5 this morning, in happy moods.

Photo of Rana.

April 2, 2020

Comments(10)

Sherry says
April 2, 2020 at 4:32 pm
That was a peaceful time for her. ??❤️
Muriel Servaege says
April 2, 2020 at 4:59 pm
Elephants have good memories and tend to stay for quite a while near their dead ones. They are definitely sentient beings..
So I wonder to what extent Rana is still grieving because it’s pretty hard to say.
SHEILA says
April 2, 2020 at 5:11 pm
aaahhh i guess? rana was thinking of ??ramba and perhaps just thought shed spend some time near her! well if she was eating thats a great sign shes ok ! does maia spend time near guidas grave? im sure they both have remembrances from time to time as do people we have sad moments!?
- REPLY
  EleComposer says
  April 3, 2020 at 7:45 pm
  Maia doesn’t visit Guida’s grave often. She did more earlier on, but not anymore.
Tammy Nelson says
April 2, 2020 at 5:13 pm
God bless ?
Nishant Bhajaria says
April 2, 2020 at 6:31 pm
Poignant.
Julia Mercedes Eden says
April 2, 2020 at 7:33 pm
I think after such an unusually intense deep friendship despite it being only a couple of months long, Rana is bound to still be grieving and, of course, it’s healthy that she does isn’t it ? Poor gentle soft -hearted sweet loving ? soul ?????
Kelejan says
April 2, 2020 at 10:09 pm
I am sure she still misses her friend. Animals cannot live as long as elephants do and not remember their friends.
Rosie P says
April 3, 2020 at 3:17 am
Rana knows that she can visit sweet Ramba whenever she wishes. A time to reflect maybe, a time to pay her respects to her loving friend. A place of comfort. I have always felt that grief is the worst pain of all but it is born out of great love. Ramba and Guida will always be part of the herd, part of ESB and part of all of us who loved/love them….especially Rana and Maia. So good to know Rana has her happy times now., and Maia, too.
Carol Durham says
April 6, 2020 at 9:41 pm
Your wonderful daily posts and images are such a blessing for all of us “hunkering down” at home. Thank you for sharing so beautifully of the amazing life there in Sanctuary.

How To Help

Adopt an Elephant

Donate Today

GSE Merchandise

Elephant Wishlists

Blog