caregiver

The Path of Elephant Caregiver Growth

One of the things we’ve noticed with elephant caregivers old and new is that each goes through layers of learning and evolution in their growth. There may be times when they are observing and gathering immense amounts of information and putting that to use. Then, almost without fail, it seems…...

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Morning Footwork With Lady and Shirlei

After Lady’s breakfast in the back of Yard 5, Scott and Shirlei met Lady at the training wall to do some footwork. Shirlei has been building a bond with Lady for a while now and Scott thought it would be a nice afternoon to join the two and see how…...

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What It Takes to Gain an Elephant’s Trust

We have been interviewing for new caregivers at the sanctuary recently, and one of the candidates asked an interesting question that gave us a chance to reflect. She wanted to know if the elephants here at the sanctuary have a high level of trust toward Scott and Kat because the…...

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A New Space For Lady’s Footwork

Not long ago, we put up some additional training walls in Yard 5, which allows caregivers to safely do foot treatments with Lady in some of her favorite spots in the habitat. Though she still enjoys foot soaks, she seems to really like the option of getting care in Yard…...

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Keeping an Eye on New Caregivers

Elephant Sanctuary Brazil is currently in the process of interviewing for new elephant caregivers. This way, when the African elephants arrive and we have an additional barn running, we will have plenty of staff on board to care for the girls (and eventual boy). There is still no date for…...

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Ingo: On Being Vulnerable

This week, Ingo is back to talk about what he’s learned – and is learning – about being vulnerable with elephants in our care. Among the most important things he emphasizes about communicating with elephants is being honest about your feelings and state of mind. “Don’t pretend to be someone…...

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