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VOLUME UP for trumpets! Before breakfast, we found Maia, Bambi, and Guillermina in Yard 5, where they’d spent the night. As we were preparing their produce buckets and hay, we could hear Maia and Bambi (especially Maia) making quite a racket. The cheerful and excited noises seemed to just keep going and going. Maia’s trumpets continued to get louder, she was spinning and running, and her tail was sticking straight out. Bambi stuck by her side almost the whole time, sometimes touching bellies, her tail also at attention. Guille wasn’t standing with them when things started, and she opted out of joining them, just grazing as she waited for her snacks.

The care team got down to the barn and were ready to go, but the two elephants continued their celebration. Since the girls were having such a grand time, no one was going to interrupt. Food is important, of course, but their relationships take precedence over things that aren’t emergencies–and the girls all know their food will be coming. We work on their schedule, not the other way around. 

Caregivers ended up waiting in the barn for about 15 minutes for the ruckus to stop, enjoying the party themselves from afar. They waited, listened, and laughed, eventually getting close enough to capture just a portion on video without interrupting the fun. (All-in-all, Maia and Bambi went on for almost 30 minutes!) They wound down on their own and soon thereafter were enjoying their meals. Dr. Luciana was due to visit, and she definitely got to interact with some charming and cooperative elephants that day.