After one of Lady’s recent wanderings in Yard 5, she came down for breakfast and we noticed she had a little poke in her eye. This isn’t uncommon, since the elephants walk through trees and bushes and all sorts of brush in the habitat. Caregivers almost immediately notice this type of injury, because the elephant’s eye tears up pretty significantly. A small wound like this tends to be easy to treat and generally doesn’t affect most elephants’ daily activities.
Upon examination, you can see exactly where an eye has been poked. There is a little indention, and the eye gets cloudy around where the hole is. That cloudiness is essentially the eye working to heal itself. But if the cloudiness is on the pupil, it can impact what the elephant is able to see – and this particular scratch happened to be right in the center of Lady’s pupil.
Things that might seem like a small inconvenience to some elephants may be a little more significant to an elephant like Lady. Because she is sometimes a bit on the insecure side, Lady can become more tentative when she has any sort of impairment of her vision. During her foot soak that afternoon, she appeared slightly less settled and a bit more watchful. If she heard a noise, she would need to turn her whole head to see what was happening, so she was just not quite as at ease as she might normally be.
Lady’s eye will probably heal in about 3-4 days, at least to the point where she won’t have a cloudy area on her pupil. We will continue to monitor and medicate her for about a week after that, just to make sure that everything heals as expected.
Even though Lady has been showing more confidence and readiness to take on larger challenges lately, she still has deep-rooted insecurities that manifest in certain moments. This particular injury has an easy fix but even something so small can impact how she relates to the larger world. It’s just another reminder that, even when an elephant seems healthy and present, there may still be old feelings of insecurity that can be tapped into at a moment’s notice. Just another small step along the larger pathway to healing…
Comments(13) 
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Carol says
July 10, 2021 at 3:10 pmPrayers going up for a fast healing process for our dear Lady.
Katie Howard says
July 10, 2021 at 3:19 pmNo way to explain to an elephant that this is temporary setback. Visual acuity is important to all animals and suddenly having it affected adversely is unnerving – even as a human who can understand what’s going on and has an idea of the prognosis.
So, even though this is apparently a minor setback, my heart goes out to Lady for having to deal with this.
On the flip side, it’s great that she’s doing so much exploring! And, elephants are very smart. Perhaps a quick recovery will help her realize even more that Sanctuary is a safe place where healing occurs!
I love Lady! ❤️🐘❤️
Melinda M Barnett says
July 10, 2021 at 3:34 pmLove you Lady, and praying for a complete healing, physically and emotionally.
John says
July 10, 2021 at 3:39 pmThank you for all you do for these gentle giants!
Linda Martin-Desy says
July 10, 2021 at 4:32 pmGod bless you for taking such good care of Lady and all the magnificent elephants.
SHEILA says
July 10, 2021 at 4:48 pmOH DEAR SWEET LIL LADY❤️🐘❤️OH I SURE PRAY SHE GETS GREAT HEALING IN HER EYE🙏SHE DOES DO ALOT OF
BUSHWHACKING! AND I HOPE SHE DOESNT GET ANYMORE INJURIES TO EITHER👁 EYE! SHE ALREADY HAS VERY BAD SORE INFECTED! TERRIBLE PAINFUL FEET. POOR LADY I HOPE SHE SOON LEARNS TO TRUST THE OTHER LADIES PARTICULARILY.❤️ RANA 🐘AND 🐘MAIA❤️ THANKU ALL FOR QUICKLY NOTICING DEAR LADYS ISSUE AND TREATING IT! 👏
Lolita says
July 10, 2021 at 10:54 pmLove You My Lady – Your Understanding Intelligence Is Your Healing 🤔🤭🤫😘
Tammy says
July 10, 2021 at 11:48 pmGet well soon sweet Lady you are in the best place possible with people who love and respect you and your sisters, love and big hugs 💞🐘💕
Wim says
July 11, 2021 at 3:16 amPoor awesome Lady sending you healing thoughts.
You’re a hypersensitive mountain of delight.
Speedy recovery beautiful sister. 🤗❤️🙏
Patricia says
July 11, 2021 at 7:34 amI send a heart full of healing love to this angel. I often find myself enlarging their pictures, like this one, and when I get done I realize I’m smiling. So many people, including me, express our gratitude to the humans who help these amazing souls. It just occurred to me, though—what a gift and a blessing to have the opportunity to give this care, to get to know these magnificent beings. Love all around! 💖💖💖
JoAnn Merriman Eaton says
July 11, 2021 at 12:43 pmLady, sending the most positive thoughts possible for fast and complete healing of your eye. Hoping this is just a little bump in the road, so that you continue to rid your soul of old insecurities. LOVE YOU sweet girl.🐘♥️
Ann says
July 11, 2021 at 11:19 pmLove you Lady. Look forward to the day you realise just how lucky you are to be in this sanctuary and with wonderful people who really love you.
Beji says
July 13, 2021 at 12:40 pmMiss Fuzzy Head!! A total beauty!
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Lady’s Eye – The Window to Her Healing