Our Use of animalEO Oils to Support All Creatures At Elephant Sanctuary Brazil

Rana with Scott Blais, GSE & ESB Co-founder

This is Rana Bug getting her bug spray on Sanctuary means nature, which includes bugs. Elephants can get ticks and mosquito bites on the areas that have soft, thin skin- so their entire underside, ears, neck, and face. And flies are just annoying, so they get a thorough spraying of two different essential oil sprays. With elephants, anything that is used topically on them has to be ok to be ingested, this makes finding something appropriate and effective a struggle.

We are very cautious with what is used in and on our elephants, so for those who have concerns about essential oils, know we only use what is safe. A few years ago, we reached out to an oil company and asked some questions. The head of the company responded, had a love for elephants, and the rest is history.

Dr. Melissa Shelton has been donating her animalEO oils to GSE for years now. Before we had elephants at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, they were being used on Ramba in Chile. Dr. Shelton is a veterinarian who had worked with oils, but after quality issues with one of the brands she had relied on, chose to make her own line. The oils are all veterinary grade, sourced, tested, and compounded by her. It makes for reliability that rarely exists nowadays.

Her oils are geared towards both emotional and physical issues, and the results are visible. We use them for the transport of elephants to begin to boost their immune system, ward off GI issues, and help them relax and trust. Maia, Guida, and Rana all benefited from them during their trips. Alma, our blind tapir that has seizures, receives both neurological and behavioral oils to help with seizure control and keeping her calm. The girls all get two anti-inflammatory oils daily to help with joint issues from a lifetime of captivity. One is ‘Ele-itis’ explicitly compounded for our girls. Guida received GI Goe when she suffered from colic, and it was one of the only things she would open her mouth for at the onset.

The dogs, cats, chickens, Frederick, tapirs, elephants, and humans all benefit from these oils, and we are grateful for Melissa’s generosity and support of all creatures at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil. It allows us to have another modality to treat the elephants and feel secure in knowing they are safe and high quality. We love being able to offer the girls support with any of the struggles they might need to deal with on their road to recovery. We have seen the difference these oils make and feel blessed that we found each other years ago and all of the residents at ESB are all the better for it.

June 15, 2019

Comments(6)

Susan says
June 15, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Another example of the amazing care and work you do for everyone at sanctuary! ❤️?❤️?❤️?❤️???? #GrandmaRambaXO
Kelejan says
June 15, 2019 at 4:17 pm
I agree, Susan. Would that everyone treated their animals like this.
Debbie Sides says
June 16, 2019 at 9:19 am
So wonderful of Dr. Shelton to provide the oils for all them. Thank you Dr. Shelton.
Sherry says
June 17, 2019 at 12:54 am
These animals are so lucky!! I live in southeast North Carolina, USA we have lots of bugs here and biting mosquitoes, they hurt! I could use a squirt myself!
I do a volunteer job at a local beautiful garden and have to spray my legs before I go out there!
SHEILA says
February 22, 2021 at 9:09 pm
GREAT ARTICLE ON THE ESSENTIAL OILS USED AND DONATED BY VET DR MELISSA SHELTON! WHAT A TRULY AMAZING WONDERFUL ❤️CARING HUMAN SHE IS! SHE CERTAINLY LOVES THE ELEPHANTS?? AND THE OTHER WILD ANIMALS! THIS IS SO EXCELLENT THAT THE LADIES GET SPRAYED REGULARLY??. WHAT HAPPENS IF LIKE MAIA SHE SPENDS DAYS IN YARD 5 OUTBACK?? YES INDEED IM SURE THE LADIES APPRECIATE THE MOSQUITO ??OIL REPELANT FROM THE HORRIFIC BITES!!!
- REPLY
  sara says
  February 23, 2021 at 11:30 am
  If Maia stays in Yard 5 for a while, she still gets food and necessities. But if she doesn’t come in for a day or so, she just doesn’t get any bug spray. We are not so worried about that, since elephants have hundreds of years of techniques for keeping bugs at bay. Mud and hay and water are all natural ways to battle bugs. So, the bug spray is not a necessity, but we do like to share it with the girls for some extra benefit.

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