Rana Is Getting a Little Fluffy

Rana is getting a little fluffy, which is the nicest way we know to describe her recent weight gain.

It’s something that happens when you have a sick elephant; we need to feed Mara extra food. There is no way to keep Rana from eating some of Mara’s food unless we separate them from each other. Frequently when we separate them, Mara will only eat a little bit of food, and then she wants to go back in with Rana and Bambi. When we separate them with distance, it works a bit better, but Rana will still “clean up” after Mara. Even though Mara continues to eat better, she still doesn’t finish everything. While there is usually only a few pieces of fruit and vegetable left, it’s the hay that Rana grabs. Bambi does a great job of respecting Mara’s food, but Rana seems to have no issue walking up to Mara’s food and helping herself.

Mara takes very dainty bites of hay and pauses between bites. During this pause, Rana will go over and shove a large chunk of hay into her mouth. It’s the same way Maia eats, but Maia is more of a tank than Rana, walks more, and gets much less hay.

Rana’s weight gain isn’t ideal, but it also isn’t dangerous. Her feet are in good shape, and her body has decent muscle tone. So her frame can support a bit of excess weight. We will put her on a diet at some point, but Mara’s weight and health are not stable enough to do that right now. In the meantime, we have a chunky elephant, who is delighted to have two friends who receive extra food at each meal.

Photo of Rana (left) and Bambi (right), scratching on the same tree.

Comments(10)

Debbie Sides says
January 31, 2021 at 2:16 pm
Awe bless her. A little plunp dumpling.
Cintia Abney says
January 31, 2021 at 2:23 pm
Hey! That’s what friendship is about ?
Carey says
January 31, 2021 at 3:00 pm
Is there a medical reason for Mara’s lack of interest in food? She is very generous sharing so graciously with her nearest and dearest!
- REPLY
  Kat Blais says
  January 31, 2021 at 6:38 pm
  Yes, we’ve talked about it throughout the past few months, although we don’t have a diagnosis due to lack of diagnostic testing in elephants like ultrasound.
Alana says
January 31, 2021 at 3:28 pm
More to Love, She’s still the most beautiful elephant in the world.
Kelejan says
January 31, 2021 at 3:55 pm
I love the way you treat each elephant as an individual so that they can be the best they can be.
John says
January 31, 2021 at 4:47 pm
How can you not fall in love completely with these girls?
SHEILA says
January 31, 2021 at 5:41 pm
AAWHH! WELL RANA AND MARA ARE LOVING❤️ BESTIES, MARA LIKELY DOESN MIND RANA SHARING AND WE KNOW HOW MUCH RANA LOVES THE GREAT TASTIN? HAY TREAT! YES I GUESS THE GRAB AND RUN TREATS R A BONUS FOR RANA!! IT GOOD SHES ENJOYING BUT YES. MAYBE GAINING ABIT OF FLUFF ALONG WITH HER PUFFS OF FUR ON HER BODY??. Can u please send us a close upPIC of RANA IN HER FLUFFINESS❓
GREAT BAMBI MINDING HER MANNERS WITH MARA THO! MARA WILL PUSH HER AND WE DONT WANT ANY INFIGHTING⚠️ OH THEY R SO WONDERFUL❗️IT LOOKS TO ME ?MAIA IS A LONER NOW TOO MOSTLY! BUT SHE DID SPEND 6 MO WITH RANA GRIEVING FOR LOVELY SWEET GUIDAS DEATH! GOOD MAIA SHOWS UP OCCASIONALLY FOR HELLO TIME WITH RANA! BAMBI AND MARA!! NO LADY JOINING YET! ARE THERE ANY CLOSEUP CONNECTIONS CLOSER TO THE FENCE?? WELL STILL PRAYING FOR LADY? TO JOIN THE OTHER 4, HOPEFULLY SOON AS POCHA ?& GUILLIE ?WILL BE IN BRAZIL IN 8 WKS??
Katie Howard says
January 31, 2021 at 9:35 pm
❤️??❤️. Two lovely ladies, doing their thing. I’m a bit chunkier (Er “fluffy”), this winter too! ?
Sallie says
January 31, 2021 at 10:08 pm
I LOVE A FLUFFY PUPPY!

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