foot health

GSE Founder Scott Blais lens over Asian female elephant Maia's foot. He is using a hoof trimming tool to trim her feet.

EleFact Friday: All About Footwork

March 20, 2026

So many elephants in captivity suffer from poor foot health. Foot conditions contribute to a high number of captive elephant deaths each year, something that wild elephants don’t have to deal with. In their natural habitats, elephants walk long distances on organic surfaces, so their pads and nails wear as…...

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Female Asian elephant Guillermina walks straight ahead while carrying a mouthful of grass. She's surrounded by greenery and a fence is on her right

Guillermina’s History of Healing

March 19, 2026

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing the history we uncovered about all the Asian elephants before or when they arrived at sanctuary, and you can go back and read those for Maia, Bambi, Rana, and Mara. Today, we’re focusing on the youngest girl at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil: Guillermina.…...

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Female Asian elephant Rana stands halfway on/halfway off a dirt path. Mara is to her left.

Rana’s History of Healing

February 5, 2026

In order to honor the elephants’ journeys here at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, we’ve been sharing some background on each of the girls. We’ve detailed what we know about their life histories and also want to highlight some of their health concerns from the past, which underscores how impactful their time…...

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Female Asian elephant Mara stands looking at the camera with her muddy trunk swinging to the left side. Behind her is yellow flowers on a hill

EleFact Friday: Human and Elephant Feet

December 5, 2025

For this week’s EleFact, we want to share a little more detail on a topic we often talk about: elephant feet. More specifically, we are looking at what the feet of an elephant have in common with our own human feet. For years, researchers have compared the morphology of feet…...

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Female African elephant Kenya stands looking left while standing in a red-clay mud wallow

Kenya’s Snacking Spot

November 20, 2025

Kenya has been very busy in the mud wallow lately. It’s become one of her favorite spots and she’s often there when caregivers check on her. The mud almost certainly feels good on her sore feet and continues to soften her pads, which still need lots of work. After arrival,…...

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Female Asian elephant Bambi stands on the left facing right with her trunk in her mouth. Female Asian elephant Guillermina stands just to her right

Increase Your Elephant Knowledge

October 30, 2025

When writing about elephants, we occasionally use terms that some of our readers may not be familiar with. We thought we’d take some time to explain what they mean, so that perhaps it will help you understand elephant vocabulary a bit more....

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