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Maia has been doing her usual wandering between Yards 4 and 5 – both spending time on her own and with the others. At one point, Bambi, Mara, Rana, and Guille were all in Yard 4 and so we decided to encourage Maia to shift over with the other elephants so that Yard 5 could get a good cleaning. We try to take our cues from the girls so, since four of them were already together, it made sense to bring Maia over to hang out with them for a while. 

Moving everyone into one space gave Maia a chance to spend time with Guille and say hello to the other ladies. After Yard 5 was reopened, everyone roamed about over there. They seem to be more comfortable with going back and forth between yards now. Guille may be a small exception, as she appears to see Yard 4 as a bit of a safe space. Just like when she felt the need to spend most of her time in the smaller yards, there are times when she behaves similarly with regards to Yard 4 – but not to the same degree. It may just be a preference for her, though we do like to encourage the elephants to venture outside of their comfort zones at times, which is why it was nice to see her join the others in Yard 5. 

Photo of Maia