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Baby has been meshing with Mara and Rana remarkably well. It’s a perfect example of how introductions and relationships don’t always go exactly as some thought they would; some may have expected Baby to become immediately close with Guillermina, but it turns out that relationship is taking more time to develop and deepen. Baby’s calm energy around the two grandmas shows what she’s capable of, and it’s definitely promising. 

In this video, Baby has positioned herself almost directly between the yard where Rana and Mara were hanging out and the opposite yard where the three girls, Maia, Bambi, and Guille, were stationed. Baby’s posture was alert and she was holding out and flapping her ears slowly to communicate her interest; she’s also listening intently to everyone around. 

We know that elephants send messages in lots of vocal ways, which Baby had been doing in this instance. But, elephants “talk” to each other using body language, just as humans do. Baby’s ears are sending a signal of curiosity and also listening for any audible or audible-only-to-elephants sounds that may be coming from either side. Just because elephants aren’t standing face to face doesn’t mean they aren’t communicating. There are so many ways they can send messages to each other that science may only have a simplified understanding of. Baby’s interest is a possible sign that she’s open to relationships with everyone around.