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Lady’s Observation of Mara

Lady in yard

While Mara is spending some time without Rana in Yard 4, she isn’t alone. Lady has continued to spend her time in Yard 4 without showing interest in the barn or other yards.

Mara is pretty active, and the other day, while headed to the trough on one of her “adventure days,” she started walking toward Lady as if to greet her. Lady let her take a few steps, but when Mara crossed that invisible boundary, Lady turned and took a couple of steps away. Mara then stopped, realizing she crossed the line, and headed back towards the trough. Lady then returned to finish the remnants of her breakfast.

In general, Lady seems a little less settled with Mara there by herself than when Mara and Rana are there together. We know Mara approached Lady in the above instance, but we also clearly saw that Mara respected Lady’s boundaries when Lady walked away. Even though Lady remains a bit more attentive when Mara is without Rana, she still chooses to be in Mara’s vicinity frequently. Lady will often face and smell in Mara’s direction, allowing her to easily observe. Lady could walk away or head to the barn or many other areas in Yard 4 to have her own space, but she doesn’t.

On days that Mara isn’t in Yard 4, Lady seems a bit lighter and more rumbly. We aren’t sure if it’s because she is more relaxed or because she gets unlimited pond time without another elephant wanting to take turns splashing.

Even if Mara’s presence means Lady is a little more guarded, it’s good to see her choosing to be social and challenge herself by spending time around other elephants in different situations.

Photo of Lady.

Comments(11)

  1. REPLY
    Melinda Barnett says
    December 19, 2020 at 12:04 pm

    I really hope Lady can learn to trust again. Elephants are so social that I shudder to think what abuse led her to take such a solitary path. 🙁

  2. REPLY
    John says
    December 19, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    It’s like a never ending soap opera around here. Thanks for the updates. These girls are endlessly fascinating.

  3. REPLY
    Nancy Shaw says
    December 19, 2020 at 12:58 pm

    Thank you! The pond splashing comment made me laugh out loud : )

  4. REPLY
    Debbie Sides says
    December 19, 2020 at 12:59 pm

    So glad Lady and the other girls are free to do what’s comfortable for them. She’s not running away from them so that’s a big step towards trusting them. One day she’ll decide to join them when she’s ready, however long it takes.

  5. REPLY
    Jillyp says
    December 19, 2020 at 3:27 pm

    Lady is fabulous and Mara is amazing respecting Lady’s need for space and reading her body language ?

  6. REPLY
    Wim says
    December 19, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    Lady seems to be on top of world news issues and practicing social distancing. Mara is sweet and listens to what the Lady says. ?

  7. REPLY
    Kelejan says
    December 19, 2020 at 11:25 pm

    All these differences in their habits makes fascinating reading. I love that they can do what they want without being made to to anything. I often wonder what they think about their past lives and remember the bad and sad times, ot whether they put the past behind them.

  8. REPLY
    Rosie P says
    December 20, 2020 at 2:09 am

    They are adjusting to each other. Lady knows that others of her kind share her space and she has found that she will not be bothered if she doesn’t want an interaction…………..I guess Bambi won’t be allowed to share a yard with Lady for some time yet!!!!!!!!!!! Mara has understood Lady’s message of “not too close I am social distancing!” Lady seems OK with that.
    I wear my “For Our Love Of Lady” T-shirt with pride and have bought one for my husband for Christmas….to go with our range of GSE tops. Lady, we love you and all the others, too.

  9. REPLY
    SHEILA says
    December 20, 2020 at 2:48 am

    AAHHH SWEET LIL❤️? LADY!! IF I RECALL CORRECTLY DID MARA? NOT SCARE LADY A FEW TIMES COMING TOO FAST AND AT EARLY IN MARAS ARRIVAL AT SANCTUARY ALOT OF LOUD TRUMPETING SENT LADY HEADING SWIFTLY FOR THE JUNGLE! POOR LADY WAS FRIGHTENED BUT SHES BEEN GETTING BETTER! SHE STILL DOESNT TOTALLY TRUST? RANA TOO CLOSE FOR TOUCHING EVEN‼️ YOU MIGHT SAY LADY IS CLOSE BUT STILL WARY⚠️ I THINK RANA CALMS ALL THE GALS DOWN MAIA! BAMBI! AND MARA! LADY AND RANA R THE QUIET GALS BUT UNFORTUNATELY STILL NO TOUCHING! I THINK ITS GOING TO HAPPEN SOON OF RANA CAN GET CLOSE ENOUGH AND LADY WORKS ON HER TRUST AND CLOSENESS TO RANA DEAR LADY WILL GET LOVE TOUCHES TO BUILD HER CONFIDENCE‼️ YES INDEED WE HAVE THIS STILL TO LOOK FORWARD TO MZ LADY??

  10. REPLY
    SHEILA says
    December 20, 2020 at 2:51 am

    AAHHH SWEET LIL❤️? LADY!! IF I RECALL CORRECTLY DID MARA? NOT SCARE LADY A FEW TIMES COMING TOO FAST AND AT EARLY IN MARAS ARRIVAL AT SANCTUARY ALOT OF LOUD TRUMPETING SENT LADY HEADING SWIFTLY FOR THE JUNGLE! POOR LADY WAS FRIGHTENED BUT SHES BEEN GETTING BETTER! SHE STILL DOESNT TOTALLY TRUST? RANA TOO CLOSE FOR TOUCHING EVEN‼️ YOU MIGHT SAY LADY IS CLOSE BUT STILL
    WARY⚠️ I THINK RANA CALMS ALL THE GALS DOWN MAIA! BAMBI! AND MARA! LADY AND RANA R THE QUIET GALS BUT UNFORTUNATELY STILL NO TOUCHING! I THINK ITS GOING TO HAPPEN SOON OF RANA CAN GET CLOSE ENOUGH AND LADY WORKS ON HER TRUST AND CLOSENESS TO RANA DEAR LADY WILL GET LOVE TOUCHES TO BUILD HER CONFIDENCE‼️ YES INDEED WE HAVE THIS STILL TO LOOK FORWARD TO MZ LADY??
    YES,,, WRITER. WIM…..LADY HAS BEEN SOCIAL DISTANCING FOR A YEAR✅

  11. REPLY
    FRANCINE FORD says
    December 20, 2020 at 9:28 am

    Ms Ladybug is taking steps, albeit baby ones, toward trust. And Ms Mara has learned to listen to Ms Lady’s cues. Hooray for both! I, too, wonder what is in Ms Lady’s past that has made her so leery to get closer to her fellow Santuary-mates. Maybe one day she’ll have a breakthrough. But for now, baby steps are steps forward.
    ❤?❤?❤?❤?❤?

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