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As we continue to see new faces reading our posts and learning about all of the elephants, we’re here to tell you about another of our longtime residents, Maia. We’ll continue to highlight some of the Asian elephant girls for those of you who are just being introduced to our herd through the arrival of Pupy, the first female African elephant to arrive at the sanctuary. 

Maia joined Elephant Sanctuary Brazil in 2016, having arrived with her supposed rival, Guida. The two had been living for five years on a farm owned by the lawyer of the circus where they were forced to perform for approximately 30 years. A court ruled that they must be confiscated from the circus, but they had nowhere to go, which is why they were taken in by the attorney. Maia had aggressive tendencies, so she was labeled by many as a “bad girl,” while Guida was often praised and received affection for her “good” behavior, all the while Maia watched from her side of the pen. The girls were corralled in a small hotwire enclosure that was separated in half by another strand of hotwire, each chained in place by a 3 meter chain, which minimized their interactions with each other. When Maia would get off of her chain, which they later changed to a double chain, she would go under the hotwire, not caring as she got shocked, and steal Guida’s food. There were times she would knock Guida over although Guida, who was about 1000 lbs underweight, never protected her food or fought back. 

We initially weren’t sure how the two elephants would react to sharing space, but our prior experience told us that anything was possible. That was proven true as we watched them become soulmates, with the process beginning literally overnight. Perhaps bound by a shared past and a willingness to embrace the future, Maia became more tender-hearted, opening up and allowing herself to become vulnerable and somewhat submissive to Guida. They had a lot to figure out, considering they had never developed a real relationship over decades working together. Their mutual adoration was an inspiration, and still is, years after Guida’s death in 2019. 

Understandably, Maia was devastated by the loss of Guida and struggled with maintaining relationships with the other elephants. She would go off on her own or, when she came close, stay on the outskirts of gatherings, never seeming to have the desire to join in with the others. Once Bambi arrived, the threesome dynamics of “The Powerpuff Girls” seemed not to mesh with where Maia was emotionally, which pushed her even further away from the group. When she eventually began inching her way into the lives of the other elephants, we watched slowly to see how things would evolve. 

Elephant dynamics are complex and that complexity is the norm. Things can change in an instant, and that’s what seemed to happen with Maia and Bambi. We literally woke up one morning to find the two of them together, after Bambi had separated herself from Mara and Rana, with Maia quietly comforting Bambi. The two were initially reserved, with Bambi seeming unsure, but two days later, they greeted the morning by vocalizing as though they’d been this close forever. It was emotional to see Maia open her heart to another elephant after years of keeping her feelings close. We hadn’t heard those noises from her since her time with Guida and it brought tears to our eyes. These days, Maia’s gentle nature plays a major role in Bambi’s wellness and ability to feel secure as her vision becomes worse. Bambi relies on Maia (and Guillermina) daily, and Maia makes sure to never be out of earshot in case Bambi needs her comfort. Maia is a boisterous spirit and lately seems comfortable with the other girls, even though she spends much of her time apart from Mara and Rana. Her easy going nature and big presence makes her impossible not to love, and she reminds us of this every day.