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We caught on the security cameras what we thought was a glimpse of Maia in the pond in Yard 4, and some caregivers were over that way, so they took a quick peek at who was swimming. Guille was the only elephant immediately in view when they arrived and she was standing at about knee level in the water, eating whatever grass she could reach from where she was perched. They initially didn’t see Maia, but eventually caught her head peeking up over the surface of the water. 

Guillermina likes to push Maia’s buttons, so she started to playfully push her around, and Maia returned the gesture with a lighthearted shove of her own. The two stood there, nudging each other and roughhousing a little, until Maia seemed to get the idea that she was going to stand over Guille. This is sort of a protective stance that elephants sometimes take, and it tends to be a loving gesture. Maia used to sometimes stand over Guida when she was sleeping. Guillermina, not having grown up in an environment where elephants can express themselves, may not have even known what was happening, and she seemed to think Maia was just continuing to play. 

Things apparently didn’t work out the way Maia intended, so she gave in to the fun and went back to wrestling trunks with Guille. Guille started squeaking and Bambi heard that and headed over toward the two silly girls. There were some excited trumpets and a bit more low-key tussling at the edge of the pond, but Maia and Guille seemed to quiet down after a couple of minutes. Bambi’s presence offered a calm to the silliness and the three spent the rest of the afternoon in and around the pond as the day slowly came to an end.