elephant behavior

Guillermina is Expanding Her Environment

Guille’s role in the herd at sanctuary has often been determined by the way she approaches the other elephants. Because of what her mother allowed, she indirectly taught her that being up front and sometimes barging in to claim what she wanted was okay, when in reality it’s not a…...

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Bambi is Attentive to Maia

Maia has been enjoying her time in Yard 5, spending days on the far side of the creek, about as far into the habitat as she can go. Recently when she returned for dinner with the group, Bambi was extra attentive to her, walking right over, smelling her, and being…...

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Bambi’s Grounded Presence

Over time we’ve witnessed Bambi becoming more settled into daily life in general, finding a comfortable pace and a secure spot within the herd. She seems to be becoming softer and looking at us more during treatments, as if to really see us, perhaps to a depth that only elephants…...

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Guille Joins the Powerpuff Girls

As always, the relationships among the elephants here at sanctuary are evolving in interesting ways. This week, after Rana and Bambi had spent some time in the annex, they went out into Yard 4 where Guille was spending time. Rana, Bambi, and Mara all walked into the habitat and the…...

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Things Evolve Over Time

In recent posts, we’ve mentioned that things at sanctuary have been relatively quiet – which tends to be a good thing. But, as caregivers, we do notice subtle things going on that, due to our extensive history with elephants, might give us some clues to the fact that big things…...

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Maia Gives Guillermina Room to Share

While Guillermina is processing her relationships with other elephants in a slow and measured way, she has strong bonds with both Bambi and Maia. Occasionally, she tries to push Bambi’s buttons a little bit, but Bambi doesn’t allow Guille to get away with much of anything. Maia is a strong…...

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