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As we continue to honor the elephants’ journeys before they got to sanctuary, we want to share some of Mara’s health history, just as we have with some of the other girls. Mara has a complicated past that has impacted her both mentally and physically, and she still has to work on both aspects of her health today. Sanctuary life has made a major impact on Mara and has given her the chance to look inside in a way she may never have been able to before. 

Because of some aggression in her past, Mara had a significant training wall at the ecoparque that you could barely see her through. The bars were so close that she couldn’t stick her trunk through at all. While we think it’s healthy to have a barrier between humans and elephants, this was extreme and, though her keepers were trying their best to connect with Mara, the situation created a scenario that made that basically impossible. She stereotyped frequently, bobbing instead of swaying. 

Because of the limitations of working with Mara, the staff at the ecoparque had a tough time bathing her. They could hose her back a little but, like Bambi, we were told that she didn’t like water. Once we were able to do an exam at sanctuary, we saw that the underside of her belly and between her back legs had layers of dead and decaying black skin. She quite dramatically backed up to the fence (without us asking her) to show us what was going on and allowed us to hose and clean underneath and apply some medical sprays to help break down the tissue. 

Physically, while still at the ecoparque, she had issues with her back-left pad and foot. Her keepers were working regularly to treat it, but it was simply not resolving. Chronic problems with feet are often a major and difficult-to-resolve issue with captive elephants and foot concerns can take an extended period of time to heal, especially with the repeated bruising and damage that occurs from the unnatural pressure from standing on hard, manmade surfaces. Eventually, at sanctuary, with nature and regular treatments, her pad looks great and that issue has resolved.

Many of you may have noticed that one of her wrists sits to the side; it was likely broken when she was young, and she has learned to adjust her gait to account for the differences in her bone structure. This uneven walk and posture has almost certainly caused her to have early-onset arthritis and some mild discomfort, but she shows no obvious signs of severe pain. 

When she got to sanctuary, her dung boluses were very small and her keepers said they’d always known them to be that shape and size. It wasn’t normal compared to healthy elephants, so we knew she’d need a thorough nutritional review and some testing to get her diet right. Months later, Mara had severe gastrointestinal issues that several of our veterinary colleagues around the world worked to assist with and diagnose. The general consensus, after seeing a bulge in her abdomen when she was down, is that it was caused by a stricture or mass in her abdomen, which prevented the full flow of food through her intestines. She eats well now, but she’s on a different diet than the other elephants, and we’re constantly monitoring her food intake for any changes to make sure we notice the first small signs of a possible issue.  

Mara needed a new environment to help her settle her energy, and sanctuary gave her the chance to feel less threatened. She had been kept at multiple circuses, sold from one to the next due to her tendency to assert herself physically. Once she got to the ecoparque, she was hesitant and watchful, looking for weak moments of those who might harm her. Her mental state seemed fragile, even though she had a tough exterior. She spent a number of years sharing space with Pupy and Kuky, but after a scuffle, the African elephants were separated from Mara, meaning they couldn’t be outside at the same time; the eight hour human work schedule was cut in half with the elephants alternating time outside in order to keep them apart. The extreme indoor confinement was challenging to her emotional processing ability.

Truly, so much of what she had to deal with involved her mental health and approach to her new environment. She not only had to decompress, but she also had to settle in and let down her guard, eventually trusting us and knowing she could passively dictate her day and we were simply around to help. She can still be watchful at times, but shows no aggressive energy. There are times when she still has trouble bonding with the group of elephants, but she’s established a beautiful relationship with Rana–something she only had decades ago as a child.

Photo of Mara with Rana behind her