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Everyone Goes Exploring In Unexpected Places

Most of the elephants here at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil have spots that they enjoy in each yard. Sometimes they get into a pattern of staying in the same spots at roughly the same times of the day during particular parts of the season. Out of practicality, there are some things here that have a bit of a routine schedule – particularly mealtimes. But all of the girls can choose to do whatever they want, whenever they want, even if that isn’t what we expected at all. It’s part of what keeps things interesting around here. 

When Mara eats in the chute at the barn, she generally spends a little bit of time in Yards 1 and 2, having some hay before heading out. But on this particular day, she left almost immediately to head back into the larger yards. Just a little bit later, Scott drove through the habitat to find Mara, to put out her evening hay and supplemental produce, and instead found Bambi hanging out happily by herself at the pond. But still no Mara. 

Turning the corner, he saw yet another elephant he didn’t expect to see: Maia, who, sometime after dinner, had walked back across the creek into Yard 4. Perhaps she is catching on to the fact that Mara gets an extra snack in the pasture and sneaks over to get a few bites. Clearly we couldn’t put Mara’s food down there, because it would become Maia’s food.  

So Scott drove back by the pond to find that Bambi was no longer there. He ended up putting the food at the end of the road in Yard 4, where Mara and Bambi showed up to devour it (even though that was supposed to be for later). We’re not sure where Rana was during this time, but she did eventually catch up with her friends and there was lots of trumpeting and rumbles. 

Maia spent time on one side of the habitat and, in the span of ten minutes, ended up ¾ of the way across the habitat, to the other side. Crossing through a space she was sharing with the three other girls shows her comfort level continues to grow. And, of course Lady was out doing what Lady loves to do – finding nice quiet spots to graze. 

All of these wanderings show that each elephant takes advantage of the space that sanctuary allows them – making time for themselves, and simply exploring all the places they want to go. It’s a pleasant reminder of just how large and wonderful the property is.

Photo of Maia, enjoying wide open spaces

Comments(6)

  1. REPLY
    Katie Howard says

    And such a beautiful space! It makes my heart happy to know that GSE exists and that the girls can explore to their hearts content! ❤️🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘❤️

  2. REPLY
    John says

    When you post something like this, it would be very helpful to include a map! Just a suggestion. Seems like I’ve seen it before. Thank you!

    • REPLY
      Sara says

      We do have a map, but we haven’t posted it lately because we need to make sure it has been updated properly. That means that we may need to create a whole new map. Thanks for the feedback. We hear you.

  3. REPLY
    Anita Janusz-Wong says

    Even with a map I will still be lost in there! You truly managed to find the most perfect place! And so large! Such a pleasure to read about the girls just pottering around in there! They really have their own say where to, with whom and for how long! Thank yous will never be enough for all you have done and are still doing. And we all love to be a part of this journey with you..:-))…We know you are very, very busy with things, so thank you for giving us so much information daily and all the beautiful photos and videos! Much love to everyone! Stay well..:-))

  4. REPLY
    SHEILA says

    LOVELY THAT BAMBI WENT TO THE POND. BY HERSELF👍 MAYBE SHE WILL GO INTO POND TOO! NICE FOR RANA AND MARA TO HAVE TIME ALONE TOO! MAIA🐘 IS SUCH A LIL TRAVELLER AND SHES VERY FAST TOO! I LOVE HOW SHE WAS IN SAME YARD AS RANA🐘 MARA!🐘& BAMBI,🐘. VERY GREAT NEWS! SOON SHE’LL BE HANGING IUT CLISER TO MARA AND BAMBI😍👍SURE WISH 🐘LADY WASNT SO ALONE! BUT IF SHES CONTENT GRAZZING SHES LIKELY LYING DOWN FOR A NAP💤💤 TOO TO REST HER SORE FEET❗️ ALL THE LADIES DOING GREAT IS BEST NEWS✅

  5. REPLY
    Beji says

    Gosh! Does anyone even say that anymore? Back to the point, I almost feel like I’m there! Poor Scott. Kinda like whack a mole!!

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