Blog

Bambi continues to do well. Scott and the team have been playing with the gate while she is in the crate, and she seems to be becoming more comfortable with it. She is currently napping.

Since people have been asking, here’s a small check-in from the Sanctuary – Maia, Rana, Mara, and Lady are all doing very well. We had a long period of scorching temperatures, which recently broke, and the weather has cooled off substantially.

The elephants all get a little more energetic when the temperatures drop. We noticed it the most in Mara. The temperatures get much colder in Argentina, and this is her first year here, so she is still adjusting to our weather. While the temperatures here are much more appropriate for her than what she had in Argentina, she felt “over” the heat. She continued to eat great and have her little parties with Rana, but we noticed she seemed a little mopey and lazy with the hot weather. She looks thrilled with the weather now that it’s cooled off.

We still haven’t had our first real rain, but we know it is coming soon. The elephants tend to get very excited in the first rain that marks the end of the dry season. We are seeing everyone getting a little spunky and happy, which we hope is a sign that it’s coming.

Everyone here seems to be following their normal routines. Lady, Mara, and Rana spent a few days together; then Lady went to the yards near the barn. After Lady headed off, Maia, Mara, and Rana began spending time together. Lady found some alone time in the back of Yard 4 recently – she alternated swimming with other activities. She seemed delighted to have the pond and water trough to herself for a bit. This morning, Rana and Mara were in Yard 5 near Yard 1, and there were lots of rumbles back and forth between them and Lady. Maia has been up to her usual activities – alternating social time and sleeping in various mud wallows and ponds.

We don’t know where any of the other elephants will be when Bambi arrives, nor do we know who will head to the barn to meet Bambi first. Just like with everything else here – it is all up to them.

Photo of Rana.

September 22, 2020