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Kenya’s caravan is continuing to wind its way toward her new sanctuary home. After a day of some minor mechanical issues, the team is back on the road and making good progress. Here, Johanna, one of the veterinarians that helps work with all of the elephants at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, talks about what the trip has been like for Kenya, how she’s eating (she eats more when the truck is in motion), how she’s sleeping (more now than at the beginning of the trip), and how the climate is trending more toward what her body would feel in the wild (no snow to be found). 

Sanctuary has so much to offer Kenya. In addition to the weather, which is appropriate for elephants to live outside year round, there are so many natural elements that will help improve her health–both physical and emotional. She will have the opportunity to bond with another elephant if she chooses, something she hasn’t done in several decades. She will exercise her muscles more than she has since she was a child, traversing hillsides and knocking down trees in her habitat. Mud wallows, dirt, and grass will improve her foot health and allow her to exfoliate all the dead skin from her body. Kenya will have space to herself if she wants it, which is an important part of autonomy; for the first time in 40 years, she’ll be able to make her own decisions about what she wants to do, where, and with whom. Everyone participating in this journey with Kenya is excited to show her the new home we’ve prepared for her, giving her a whole new beginning to the rest of her life. 

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This is an update on Kenya’s relocation from Ecoparque Mendoza, Argentina, to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, a 2,800-acre natural sanctuary. Kenya was brought to Mendoza at 4 years old and has lived her entire life alone in a sterile zoo environment. Now, at 44 years of age, her life is about to change dramatically. She will have the space to roam, make her own decisions, and explore natural behaviors like foraging for food and bathing in the mud. In addition, for the first time in decades, she’s going to have the opportunity to have a new friendship with another elephant, Pupy.