Blog

Today for your Sunday Smile, we want to celebrate International Friendship Day by honoring the deep relationships we see each day among our elephant herd. We all know about the connection that the “Powerpuff Girls” – Bambi, Mara, and Rana – have with each other, but the elephants are branching out and developing new bonds with other girls at the sanctuary. For instance, Maia was once tentative about joining the three and would stay on the outskirts of their gatherings, but she is now fully in the mix with them. Guillermina has grown in leaps and bounds, learning to navigate her way around the group and finding joy in her time with Maia and Bambi. Lady has friendships but, for the most part, she is most comfortable communicating with others at a distance. There’s a natural evolution among all of the girls and their relationships, as each settles into old friendships and explores new ones. There’s a true beauty in building lasting bonds and we get to watch the ups and downs each day. You have to work at sustaining friendships and that’s what we see with the elephants here at sanctuary – a willingness to open up and share emotions with others.