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Maia and Bambi continue to strengthen their relationship and spend lots of time together. It seems that Bambi feels somewhat more confident when Maia is nearby, which is understandable considering that she’s a little insecure about her increasingly compromised vision. Bambi enjoys sharing dinnertime with Maia and Guillermina, though she’s been seen eating recently with all four of the other elephants. 

In this video, Bambi is snacking on some hay while Maia gently touches her on the face several times, seemingly as a sign of affection. Sometimes, elephants will put their noses in another elephant’s mouth as a way to communicate using the Jacobsen’s organ. Touching provides olfactory communication that gives an elephant signals as to what’s happening with another. In this case, Maia appears to be genuinely caressing and maybe comforting Bambi, if not looking for information on how she’s doing. Both girls seem relaxed and enjoying the late morning, after breakfast – which is a sleepy time for Maia, so she might be feeling extra relaxed in the moment. Overall, all seems well with this couple of ladies.