Mara Finds THE Itchy Scratchy Tree!

We were going to try to do another live video last night, but plans mean nothing here. 😉 Mara continued to do very well throughout the day yesterday, taking time to explore and graze and graze and graze. She is incredibly tactile and touches everything. Even when she collects grass, she passes over it with her trunk a few times first. She’s lovely.

It’s apparent that she is insecure about many things, but we expect that to change as she discovers the new world around her and builds confidence with each new exploration and choice.

None of the other girls came by yards 1-3 today. Rana was visible from the barn at breakfast, but at dinner was at the very back of 5. Maia was still across the creek in 5. Lady was the closest, funnily enough, but still not too near. We will see where everyone decides to be at breakfast tomorrow.

Around 10 pm tonight, we will go down to check on Mara, to refresh some of her food if she is in the barn, lay eyes on her, and make all seems well. She has access to the barn and yards 1, 2, and 3 tonight, so she can choose where she spends her time.

She’s doing really well, and we all get to fall in love with her together. ❤️

Video is Mara at the itchy scratchy tree, as you can see by the mud-covered bark, it is a favorite of all of the girls. One of the captive issues Mara has is very dry skin with layers of dead skin. Water, mud, and wonderful trees will work wonders for that.

May 15, 2020

Comments(22)

Carol says
May 15, 2020 at 9:18 am
Fell in love with our Mara, immediately! Such a lovely soul. ???
Carmela says
May 15, 2020 at 9:20 am
Por favor podrían editar este y todos los blogs en español? Los q seguimos a Mara no todos nos manejamos con el inglés y queremos saber todo y más de su nueva vida. Gracias por todo lo q hacen por ella!!!
- REPLY
  EleComposer says
  May 15, 2020 at 10:33 am
  There is a Spanish translate menu option at the top of every page. It is a clear white drop-down menu labeled “Select Language”.
Julia Mercedes Eden says
May 15, 2020 at 9:48 am
Hi from England. Just wondering when Mara rubbed against the ‘itchy tree’, why did she extend her trunk upwards and open her mouth wide ? (As you can tell I’m not very knowledgable about elephants ). I’m amazed at how active she’s being exploring so early on. Love her already ❤️?❤️?
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  EleComposer says
  May 16, 2020 at 8:39 am
  She’s just smelling. That tree smells like everybody because everybody rubs all over it. We don’t have an elephant that hasn’t rubbed over it. Every elephant that has walked through the front door loves Itchy Scratchy Tree. 🙂 It’s part of extending her nose up smelling, and then, of course, trying to see if she can grab a branch because Itchy Scratchy Tree is also edible, but all the low branches have already been eaten.
Susan says
May 15, 2020 at 10:18 am
I was waiting for her to find the itchy scratchy tree!!!!!! I even said it out loud to myself last night, I swear!! I love watching her explore, she is so lovely. When she jumped a little yesterday at the blackbird, i had to giggle a little, she looked like a little calf seeing a bird, she was so cute!!!! I am in love even more with this sweet girl and my heart just fills with joy getting to watch and observe. Thank you SO MUCH for everything. Love all of you!!! ❤️?❤️ p.s. love this MAP!!!!!
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  EleComposer says
  May 15, 2020 at 10:37 am
  Thanks so much for your feedback on the map (and others who have responded in the past). We will continue to include it occasionally. ❤️
Carol durham says
May 15, 2020 at 10:30 am
Love having the “map” to envision the areas when you let us know where the girls are
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  EleComposer says
  May 15, 2020 at 10:43 am
  Thanks for the feedback, Carol! ❤️
JoAnn Merriman Eaton says
May 15, 2020 at 10:46 am
Love how she scratched on the tree, opened her mouth , put her head back like ‘oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!’??
Lila says
May 15, 2020 at 11:38 am
This is all so so so lovely. Mara is a darling!!!! I bet sweet Rana will befriend her soon. Thanks for the map. I love this!!!!!
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  EleComposer says
  May 15, 2020 at 12:04 pm
  Thanks, Lila. ❤️
Margaret says
May 15, 2020 at 11:57 am
I was thinking about this last night – what are the chances that some of the elephants that you rescue will know each other from their long-ago circus days? Were there many circuses that had elephants?
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  EleComposer says
  May 16, 2020 at 8:26 am
  The chances that the elephants might know one of the others is fairly decent because most of the elephants that were imported into South America came from the same place. A lot of the elephants came through the same zoo in Europe. Mara was moved from there along with two other elephants to South America. One of those elephants was Merry who was supposed to come to the sanctuary but sadly died before that was possible. The other elephant went to Brazil but the name is unknown. Often elephants are held together in a place before being shipped off, so you get a bunch of elephants who end up in these places with a lot of other elephants. Sometimes it’s for a very short period of time; sometimes longer depending upon demand. Some of the circus elephants in South America have been kept with other circus elephants for short periods of time during wintering-over, or when not on the road, or during the off-season. So there’s a decent chance that at least someone is going to have crossed over with someone before. Of course we are never going to know who it was. We had been told that Rana had been with Maia and Guida for awhile, but it’s hard to know which stories are true – and we hear a lot of different versions of the stories. But yes, there is a chance that somebody along the way is going to have known somebody else. And as you have heard from last night’s video, it is possible that we have two right now.
PAULA says
May 15, 2020 at 1:10 pm
Vivo en Argentina y gracias al traslado de Mara los he conocido a ustedes !!! Aún no puedo creer lo que mis ojos ven!!! Les agradezco con todo mi corazón todo lo que hacen por los elefantes❤
Hace ya casi una semana que comenzó su viaje y no dejo de llorar lágrimas de emoción, alegría, paz y pena por ella y por sus nuevas hermanas!!!! Deseo que sean felices juntas viviendo en libertad !!!???
- REPLY
  EleComposer says
  May 15, 2020 at 1:26 pm
  Very touching words, Paula, thank you. Welcome! ❤️??❤️
Sheila says
May 15, 2020 at 3:26 pm
Oh sweet ?mara!! U are so beautiful! ?u look so young and happy‼️ My goodness mara u are so happy with the itchy scratchy ? tree!! Wow it looked like u were going to. Yell to the sky! “ I love ❤️this jungle! Im free‼️
Sallie Robbins-Druian says
May 15, 2020 at 3:43 pm
I think Miss Mara (although going at her own pace) is totally in love with her new home! I believe in the very near future, there will a competition for us of the Scratching Tree! This will make them forever, Dos Tres Amigas! I can feel the vibe already . . .
Heidi says
May 15, 2020 at 3:45 pm
She is just so cute! She has the happiest look on her face like she’s thinking, I can’t believe this is real!
Juan Camilo Echeverri says
May 15, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Love the map!
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  EleComposer says
  May 15, 2020 at 6:13 pm
  Thanks, Juan! ❤️
Tracy H says
May 15, 2020 at 5:56 pm
Oh my gosh Miss Mara is just so adorable. She looks like she is so happy. Can’t wait to watch them all gather at the itchy scratchy tree. What a sight that will be. Thanks again for all the updates and the map telling us where all the girls are. Love it!!!!!!????

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