RanaBug Is a Very Clever Girl ;)

Rana and Mara seem to have a balanced relationship. Being together seems to be the most important part of the equation for them. Maia and Guida would sometimes wander off to different parts of the habitat and spend time apart. That’s something we haven’t seen with Mara and Rana. They will go in opposite directions, but not too far or for too long.

Sometimes, we need to lead Rana and Mara somewhere. It’s usually related to mealtime, but occasionally, there are other reasons such as treatment or habitat cleaning/maintenance. Most of the time Rana leads, but sometimes Mara is in front.

Rana, when feeling lazy, or when she is following Mara and wants to be first, has learned a ploy to trick Mara into not following.

When Mara is in the lead, she is closer to the 4wheeler (ATV). Rana, being last, will only let Mara get a couple of steps ahead of her before she flaps her ears and squeaks. Of course, Mara immediately turns around and walks over to check on her friend. Once Mara is next to Rana, Mara has to vocalize, then they smell/touch each other and rumble. A couple of minutes later, they will start following the 4wheeler again.

Mara seems to enjoy her humans, and she loves to wander and explore, too. She follows easily when asked, but there is one thing Mara likes more than everything else combined – Rana.

If Rana doesn’t want to follow, or if she’s feeling sleepy and wants to take a break, she knows exactly what to do. We don’t know if Mara has caught on yet, but Mara certainly stops following and comes running to Rana every time.

Rana is still a sweetheart – she isn’t refusing to go, she’s just slowing everything when she wants to. It doesn’t happen super often, but regularly enough to make us laugh. She knows what she’s doing, and as long as Mara doesn’t mind, we don’t care. It is comically slow, though, whenever Rana wants it to be.

Photo: Mara is closer, and Rana is behind her.

July 22, 2020

Comments(8)

Wim says
July 22, 2020 at 4:48 pm
Well human who’s got the biggest brain here and a giant bag of tricks to her disposal.
Yup it’s me the RanaBug. How utterly clever this Ele can beat the lot of you. ???
Lori Hoover says
July 22, 2020 at 5:16 pm
Hehehe I can see this picture set up being……….Rana in the rear, ready to give a little toot to slow Mara down. I’m sure Mara wouldn’t mind, after all, Rana ran to her rescue the minute she met her, and has been ever since. I love, love these two girls. I do recall Rana having to race after Ramba (love and miss her, too) , not wanting to miss any fun. They had such a short time together, it’s nice to know Rana is comfortable knowing she doesn’t quite have to race all the time, although, I think she would.
June Ross says
July 22, 2020 at 5:29 pm
I love the friendship of these two! It is really very astounding.
I am wondering if we are going to see any longer videos is the not to distant future?
Paula says
July 22, 2020 at 7:17 pm
Escucharon alguna vez algo tan hermoso?
El comportamiento de estas damas es conmovedor y muy dulce ?
Es adorable como luego de un breve distanciamiento, ellas se tocan, huelen y retumban para controlar que este todo bien! Muy tierno?
Patricia says
July 22, 2020 at 11:41 pm
This is an especially cute picture, and they are already the cutest things! I love them madly!
Rosie P says
July 23, 2020 at 3:04 am
What a fabulous post! Sanctuary for Mara has changed her life so much as well as Rana’s. I don’t think we ever expected Rana to find a friendship again like she had with our sweet Ramba. It’s so wonderful to know that these two beauties have this special relationship. Rana seems to be the canny one. Oh my, they really are so very intelligent.
Sheila says
July 23, 2020 at 8:55 pm
Oh yes rana? is truly the tall sweet ❤️lady! Shes always been a lovely easy to get along with lady and wanting the best for all the other ladies???‼️ I think since. Rana has that front stiff leg perhaps she gets tired and sure has it figured out how to get maras attention to wait for her! I guess its abit of carefully planned trickery as im sure it comes easy from circus days! All these ladies r very smart! They remember little events?
JoAnn Merriman Eaton says
July 25, 2020 at 12:42 am
These two absolutely warm my heart. Watching their friendship from the very first step, seeing it grow to what it is today is truly amazing. I am so happy they found each other. I will always wonder if they knew each other in their past life.

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