Lady in Paradise
Lady

In Loving Memory of Lady

Rescued November 29, 2019
Died May 15, 2024 at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil
Age estimated to be 52 years
Former circus and zoo elephant

View Lady’s Celebration of Life.

Lady wasn’t your ordinary elephant. She had a spunk that resonated with everyone she met, but that didn’t mean that she immediately took to all who knew her. You had to earn her trust and it didn’t come easily. Lady seemed to know her worth and insisted that you be present in the moment with her, if you were going to be her caregiver. If she didn’t like how you were approaching her, she’d bang her head at the bars as a warning that you needed to truly be there with her.

Lady walking through the grasses at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil

When Scott first met Lady in the zoo – she’d been confiscated from a circus where she lived for decades – it was obvious that she had a clever mind of her own. Scott remembers, “You could see there was a lot of life in her; that was a big takeaway. Her feet were, of course, in terrible condition, but she had a lot of spunk and spark inside her.”

Some might have considered Lady a loner at sanctuary. She preferred her own company, likely because the condition of her feet would prevent her from getting away from another elephant, if she felt threatened or like she needed space. But she always seemed comfortable in her own skin and she lived her life on “elephant time.” She shared space with Mara and Rana at times, but seemed most at ease when she could explore the world around her on her own. She took to sanctuary life with enthusiasm. She would search out the tastiest green grass in the most difficult-to-reach places in the habitat, feet be damned.

When Lady arrived, we didn’t know how much time she had at sanctuary; her feet were in that bad of a condition. She beat the odds again and again, finding joy in a ripe watermelon or the palms that flourished in the male Asian habitat she frequented. We’ll miss her, but we are grateful she’s no longer in pain. We will never forget the lessons she taught us along the way.

Tributes to Lady

Please leave your thoughts, wishes, emotions or whatever pours into this Memorial Page for our beloved Lady.