A Health Check-Up With Rana

None of the elephants at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil came to us in perfect health, but we have seen each of them heal in so many ways since their arrival. Rana is now in good health for her age, but she has some smaller, lingering issues that still need attention.

Shortly after she arrived, Rana developed a papilloma just outside the corner of her eye. We tried all treatments short of surgery that we knew of – cryosurgery, topical medication, alternative therapies, even cold laser therapy. Most things we attempted would improve her condition, but eventually any progress she was making would plateau. Superficial wounds of most types tend to be slow to heal in elephants.

Rana occasionally opted not to have her eye treatments done. That was totally understandable; the process meant standing very still while we cleaned and wiped her eye, then applied different medications, which all needed to sit for some time before the next step. Rana’s choice to take some days off was totally fine. The papilloma wasn’t affecting her overall health and her autonomy was an important thing to consider.

We began to notice that when Rana took a day off from treatment, the growth appeared to improve slightly. Taking our cue from what her body seemed to be telling us, we started treating her every other day. That seemed to work better, so we moved to every third day to see if that would hasten improvement. Her healing seemed to progress. Ultimately, we ended up adjusting her treatment based on what we observed while examining her. Every 4 or 5 days we would give it a quick cleaning and apply some medication to her eye and it was only then that the healing progress was maintained. At this point, her papilloma is about 95% healed.

Treating animals means using your medical expertise, but also observing closely. You don’t want to take your treatment one step too far if the animal is guiding you another way. Our responsibility is to be medically effective and do as much as we can, but still be flexible to get the results that best improve the wellness of each elephant.

Comments(13)

Rachel says
June 16, 2021 at 3:06 pm
Great to hear! Wise elephants and wise humans helping each other is fabulous news.
Julie says
June 16, 2021 at 3:40 pm
Rana just looks so beautiful and healthy. I’m so happy to hear she has people who look after her so well!
SHEILA says
June 16, 2021 at 4:03 pm
WOW!! EXCELLENT FOR ❤️🐘RANA! I SAW A TINY WHITE SPOT IN CORNER ON HER EYE UPON ARRIVAL! SINCE IVE SEEN IT GROW TO ALMOST COVER HER 👁PUPIL! SWEET RANA MUST HAVE TROUBLE SEEING! I SURE WOULD LIKE TO SEE PICTURE HOW THE PAPILOMA HAS SHRUNK! IM VERY IMPRESSED WITH RANAS HEALING STORY👍 YES RANA WAS IN POOR HEALTH WHEN SHE ARRIVED BUT CERTAINLY HAS GAINED MAJOR HEALTH SINCE ARRIVAL AT GES! BRAVO RANA! 🐘 LOVE U BIG GIRL❤️
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  Sara says
  June 16, 2021 at 7:06 pm
  The papilloma is on the inside of her lid and hasn’t ever impacted her vision. But we are very happy that she is in good health and doing well.
John says
June 16, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Rana: “I told you it’s better every OTHER day, but you wouldn’t listen!”
elaine richard says
June 16, 2021 at 4:27 pm
Well done, you guys! Thoughtful, thorough, and sensitive as always.
Katie Howard says
June 16, 2021 at 4:40 pm
Rana is beautiful, inside and out! So glad to hear the papilloma is nearly healed! I’m astounded at her health given her history and her age! ❤️🐘❤️
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  Sara says
  June 16, 2021 at 6:46 pm
  It is amazing what sanctuary can do for an elephant. She has blossomed.
Ellen Bollinger says
June 16, 2021 at 4:47 pm
Rana..is so smart..good for her and You!
Carol says
June 16, 2021 at 5:25 pm
Wow! That was an astute observation. Fantastic! Great result!
Love you guys so much!!!
Victoria B says
June 16, 2021 at 8:01 pm
I may be biased, but I think Rana is the most beautiful elephant ~ with a personality to match
Barb says
June 19, 2021 at 1:35 pm
Well this good news had a significant impact on my emotions. So heartwarming to hear about Rana’s health. She is a special girl!
Anita says
June 21, 2021 at 6:39 am
Wow! What an interesting post! And such a wonderful outcome from observing and following the queues given by this beautiful ellie. She is truly re born creature with lots of TLC and gentle hands..:-)) THANK YOU!

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