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After a restful evening in their own separate yards, Pupy and Kenya both met their caregivers for breakfast along the fence. Kenya still seemed fairly sleepy and stayed put, but Pupy had plenty of energy and walked all the way to the far side of her respective yard for her meal. Afterward, Kenya went with her caregivers to the barn to work on the behaviors she needs for her periodic check-ups–and she’s picking everything up like a rockstar.

Once Kenya was finished, we opened all of the gates in Yards 1 and 2 so that the elephants could come together for a little while if they wanted. Pupy joined Kenya in Yard 1 for a few minutes, but decided to go back to the barn to eat hay–with her head in the chute and her bottom in the yard. They seemed to follow each other in circles from yard to yard, just as they did yesterday. Pupy ended up heading over to Club Mud for some splashes. There was no touching and not much time sharing the same space, but the energy was very calm. Kenya is still doing an amazing job at toning down her energy, and Pupy doesn’t seem afraid. Kenya made a few quiet rumbles, but there was no response from Pupy. 

The elephants had basically separated themselves by dinnertime, with Kenya in Yard 1 and Pupy in Yard 2, so we fed them both near the gate, leaving enough room between the two girls that they could eat and not feel like they needed to keep an eye on each other. We don’t anticipate any food stealing (which we see from Guillermina at times), but for now Pupy might feel more at ease with a little extra space. By the time all of the humans left the barn, Kenya had made her way into Yard 2 with Pupy. The fences were left open all night so they could take a break from each other if they chose to, but later in the evening we saw them on the observation camera and they were still together. 

This video, taken on our observation camera so there’s no sound, shows the two elephants together at Club Mud in Yard 1. Pupy is standing in the water and Kenya approaches her from behind. Pupy is calm, but eventually decides to step out and over to the fence line. Kenya stays put and eventually starts dusting herself.