Lady Enjoying A Jackfruit

Lady is an incredible example of perseverance, and we know that’s why many of you love her. This video shows her determination to enjoy a jackfruit.

Lady is a petite elephant, which means she also has a smaller mouth (for an elephant, at least). We usually cut her larger fruits into smaller pieces. While Maia will get a half of a watermelon, we typically give Lady two quarters, so they are more appropriately sized for her mouth.

Jackfruit goes from underripe to overripe quickly. Once that happens, the fruit becomes so sweet and sticky that all the creatures devour them off the tree. The best way to guarantee the elephants get plenty from our tree is to harvest them when they are slightly underripe when they are still a little rubbery. We try to cut them into smaller chunks for her, but we don’t always. This video is her getting a whole jackfruit into bite-size pieces. As you can see, she doesn’t give up until she gets every single bite.

September 17, 2020

Comments(24)

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Nancy Shaw says
September 17, 2020 at 4:25 pm
I LOVE HER ! She even uses her poor painful feet!
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arie says
September 17, 2020 at 4:28 pm
l’m melting ?❤️
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JoAnn Merriman Eaton says
September 17, 2020 at 4:32 pm
A wonderful video of LadyBug. Loved every minute watching her enjoying herself.♥️?♥️
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Lane says
September 17, 2020 at 4:49 pm
There is such healing here! It’s hard to remember her stereotypical behavior so in evidence before she was brought to Sanctuary…when we see her now she is a completely different elephant. Wonderful video. Thank you!
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Julie says
September 17, 2020 at 4:52 pm
She’s adorable and seems very happy with herself at the end.
Now I’m no expert, but her feet seem to look pretty good, pretty healthy, to me!
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Wim says
September 17, 2020 at 4:55 pm
It’s not easy for a LADY to get a decent treat into her mouth. Quite demanding to eat in ladylike fashion. This footage is super Beautiful to watch time and time again. Hope it’s not to exhausting for her fragile feet. Well done My fair Lady. ???
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Paula says
September 17, 2020 at 4:58 pm
Completamente adorable! Divertido ver a Lady utilizar todos sus recursos para disfrutar de la deliciosa yaca ? Que hermosos se ven los pies de Lady, realmente se ven tan bien … Veo los cuidados amorosos de Kat ? Gracias por cuidar tan bien a Lady!❤
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Nancy Shaw says
September 17, 2020 at 5:04 pm
Can you a chain saw to cut it next time?
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  EleComposer says
  September 17, 2020 at 6:44 pm
  ?
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Irene says
September 17, 2020 at 5:14 pm
Omg my heart!? she is adorable!??
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Lynn Kinley says
September 17, 2020 at 5:47 pm
The jackfruit put up a fight, but Lady prevailed! Her feet are looking better. Love her!
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SHEILA says
September 17, 2020 at 6:13 pm
Sweet lil ❤️?lady! You are a tenacious lil gal‼️ ill bet jackfruit still tasted great all the same! It was so enjoyable seeing you use your front feet‼️ I notice your toe nails look clean and 100% better than when u came 9 mos ago to sanctuary‼️ wow. Thanks so much scott! Her feet look very healthy????
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Sallie says
September 17, 2020 at 6:41 pm
Such a determined lady with her beloved jackfruit! She never gives in to anything! But it is how she goes about it, in such a “Ladylike” way . . . That is so adorable and sweet . . . How can you not want to jump into this vid and give her a huge hug! Thx lady, for picking up my spirit today!
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Lynne Russert says
September 17, 2020 at 7:24 pm
Must be a very tough fruit. I love her determination!!!?
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Lila Nieto says
September 17, 2020 at 8:05 pm
Oh, so she is a petit elephant… awww…. Lady. That is lovely. Yes, I agree that her feet look better, they look treated, cared for. They are definitely better than when she arrived, poor sweetheart. She is so gorgeous, so endearing. Thank you for loving her.
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Tammy says
September 17, 2020 at 10:04 pm
Wow Lady is quite the determined lil trooper isn’t she! That jack fruit must taste really good so happy she accomplished her mission shows she’s definitely not a quitter good for her ? ???
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Alana says
September 17, 2020 at 11:01 pm
What an amazing job you have done on her feet! So good to see.
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Tracy H says
September 17, 2020 at 11:30 pm
Patience and determination win every time. I just love Ladybug as well as all the other girls. I could just squeeze the living daylights out of her she is so dang cute. Thanks again for everything you, Kat and the whole team do for each one of these special ladies. ????❤️❤️❤️❤️
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Bo says
September 18, 2020 at 12:45 am
It is so zen watching elephants eat. So calm, so calm.
Often, with other animals, it mostly is all rushed and stressy, (and with the meat-eaters in the wild, it is so cruel, I can never watch that) watching them speed-eat.
But with some it is rather zen.
And elephants, yes, zen-eaters!
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Rosie P says
September 18, 2020 at 2:58 am
Bless her beautiful heart. That jackfruit was worth the work! She even used her feet!!!!! You could see as the video progressed that she was working out ways to break up the fruit, holding it down with her foot so that she could put more force on it with her trunk…even bringing the other foot in to help break up the tasty treat. Is she experiencing less pain in those feet at the moment?
What a difference to how she was at the zoo. She looks bright and alive now, her eyes look at a beautiful habitat where she can wander at will …all that space, all that freedom. This is what love can do!
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Carey says
September 18, 2020 at 12:38 pm
She is so cute isn’t she, Lady be name and “lady” by nature. Great to see this trunk work, and foot work too. Re her toenails, will the bad ones with cracks and holes grow out? I know her awful problems with her feet, and really hope there is some improvement – less pain?
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Patricia says
September 22, 2020 at 7:43 pm
Lady is so smart and so adorable! Yes, I too am so grateful her feet have improved so much. Lady is a little doll. Smoochies, darling!
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Carey says
December 4, 2020 at 7:33 pm
Just looked at this a second time and am in awe of how much she is using her feet. How delicate the force, and as you say determination. Her feet appear to be less painful ? Your thoughts would be very welcome. Does she allow you to do file or scraping work on her toenails yet?
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  Kat Blais says
  December 5, 2020 at 11:13 am
  The level of pain she feels changes. We do footwork on her regularly. Her back feet are in good condition at this point. The front feet are still a work in progress. Because of the abscessing, we cannot file her nails normally because it would put pressure directly on those areas, causing significant pain. So although her front nails don’t look as ‘pretty’ they are trimmed for comfort and purpose, not aesthetics. Her feet will never be ‘normal’, but they are in much better condition now.

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