Five Girls at Weigh-Ins

Since it was time for weigh-ins, we took advantage of the elephants moving between Yards 4 and 5 to bring them into the barn where the scale is. The Powerpuff Girls were the first three through the chute, stopping on the scale momentarily, and then moving into the barn. They shifted over into the other stall and the gate was opened so they could all leave and head back into the yard. For safety, and to ensure everyone is comfortable, multiple entrances and exits all remain open. This way, if someone isn’t settled, they can leave. And they can do so without having to walk past anyone else.

Maia and Guille were next to be weighed, with Maia making sure Guille understood not to rush her through by standing on the scale for an extra long time. Guille got the message and (mostly) patiently waited her turn. We thought that when Maia and Guille girls entered the barn the other girls might leave, but everyone decided it was nap time instead. Not only did the Powerpuff Girls remain in the barn, but they came back into the other stall with Guille and Maia for additional rest. While Guille was fairly quiet, you could tell she was trying to keep her energy under wraps, since everything was peaceful. All in all, they spent about an hour in the barn before they decided they were rested enough to go out to play in the water and find some fresh grass to graze on.

Comments(20)

Greg says
April 11, 2023 at 2:10 pm
How do you lure them all into the care center at the same time? I’m guessing food?
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  Kat Blais says
  April 11, 2023 at 4:27 pm
  we just open up. they don’t mind going in, they just get bored and want to leave after some time. but once one goes in usually everybody wants to go in. 😂
Nancy says
April 11, 2023 at 2:10 pm
Loved every minute ! Thank you Scott for your narration.
Marcia says
April 11, 2023 at 2:11 pm
What were the weights?!? How much has Guille lost? Very curious about our girls!
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  Kat Blais says
  April 11, 2023 at 4:33 pm
  we don’t share their weights because we don’t want people misinterpreting if there are any gains/losses since there are fluctuations with the seasons and with aging and muscle loss as well as muscle gain. it’s just not a level of detail that ends up being beneficial. we have talked about general ranges, and allowed people to guess Guille’s weight once, just because it was so far from what her weight should be. but once they get to a good weight, we don’t share those numbers.
Carolyn Clarke says
April 11, 2023 at 2:15 pm
Is everyone’s weight at an appropriate level? I think I recall that Guille needed to lose weight after a life in the pit where she had little to no exercise. As she builds up muscle mass does that change the need for how much weight to lose seeing that muscle weighs more than fat.
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  Kat Blais says
  April 11, 2023 at 4:28 pm
  they are all at pretty good weights right now. Maia is a little heavy, Guille still needs to build up some more muscle- but her weight is close to ‘perfect’ for her size and age. a lot just goes by appearance, but it’s always good to do regular weigh ins in case there is some subtle loss or gain that you don’t notice.
Nancy says
April 11, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Weights please! Or maybe make it a guessing game for us 🙃
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  Kat Blais says
  April 11, 2023 at 4:32 pm
  we don’t give out regular weights, since they can fluctuate by season and we don’t want people misinterpreting changes. we did play a guessing game with Guille once, only because she was so far from what should be her weight that there was no harm in that. ☺️
Linda says
April 11, 2023 at 4:20 pm
So great to see them all together and peaceful like this! Rana looks a little thin, or ‘sunken in’ in places and along her back, or is it just the angle or that is her build?
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  Kat Blais says
  April 11, 2023 at 4:30 pm
  it’s her age. at 50 elephants start to lose muscle mass along their spine and their faces. they get a little bit of a ‘grandma pot belly’ and the skin around their ankles begins to sag. the older they get, the less muscle they have along their spine. she has a little belly, so we know she’s ok, and her numbers are good. but her spine will never fatten up.
Pam Knaggs says
April 11, 2023 at 4:26 pm
It must be tough on Guille being so young with so much energy then being surrounded by senior, less energy gals!
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  Kat Blais says
  April 11, 2023 at 4:30 pm
  luckily there are several of them to one of her. she can almost always find someone who is a little more active, she just needs to rotate through sometimes. 😆
Maureen says
April 11, 2023 at 4:39 pm
That is some serious cuteness going on right there!!!
Wim says
April 11, 2023 at 5:07 pm
I guess Happy Hour worth its weight in gold.
Lovely gathering though.
Richard Chiger says
April 11, 2023 at 9:52 pm
I would love to know what each elephant weighed. I am also interested in shoulder heights of elephants. Do you have accurate shoulder heights for them. They are all so beautiful. I believe that Maia is the one with the most depigmentation. I have a beautiful drawing of her on my wall. It was done by Thyra Rutter.
Terry says
April 11, 2023 at 10:18 pm
I can relate to the ” sunken in” look sweet Rana! The muscles melt, and for me, as an older female, bat wings have appeared, and I’m sporting a turkey neck which sure beats a turtle neck any day!!!🤣 How very precious each one of you are! Healthy, Happy, and excellent physiques!
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  Kat Blais says
  April 12, 2023 at 8:58 am
  yes, aging happens to us all
Linda says
April 12, 2023 at 12:17 am
Thank you so much for the explanation! I thought it might be age but wanted to be sure… and yes, as all of us as well as eles age things start to sag lol!
Jeanine says
April 14, 2023 at 11:39 pm
I find it so amazing that they all have their own story coming from different parts of the world and ended up together. Thank you for saving them.❤️

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