Global Sanctuary for Elephants

There is a significant amount of joy when the rain returns to the area. Not only do the people breathe a sigh of relief, but the birds sing more, the elephants get sillier, and many bugs reappear out of nowhere: think dung beatles erupting out of the ground, reminding you that they’ve been missing for months. Things shift to green so quickly, and the land is just that much more beautiful. But, as with everything in life, there is a balance. And it’s fairly typical that at the beginning of the rainy season, we have a few days where it rains all day. On the first day, people are saturated but still light about things. By the third day, the humans are not quite as happy as all of the other beings. Funnily enough, when there are breaks in the rain, they seem to fall during lunchtime, when everyone is under cover. And then, about five minutes after caregivers step back into the outside world, the rain commences. The sanctuary is like kindergarten, everyone has lockers with changes of clothes, but when it rains that much, it just doesn’t matter at some point. We just have soggy caregivers in rain gear. Thankfully, it has let up a little bit, and although it is still raining each day, it also stops for a few hours. And if we’re lucky, it happens to be during mealtime for the elephants. But the girls are rejoicing in the saturation, which helps bring a smile to your face as your boots squish with every step you take while delivering their meals. Photo of Maia nearly fully drenched, with a bite of hay #nonprofit

Last month, we shared a story of Junior, the tamandua-bandeira (giant anteater) who was part of our wildlife rehabilitation and release program. After some trial and error, Junior was recently able to make the leap into the wild. One evening, the opportunity presented itself to move forward with the release, as he came back to eat with mom. We let him finish his dinner, allowed mom to leave the crate, and then waited patiently and silently to see if he would walk in. He sniffed around, sensing that maybe something was a little different because there were extra people in the area, but he walked willingly into the crate on his own, and we slowly lowered the door behind him. He was very calm as we loaded the crate into the truck, drove the 3 km to the center of the sanctuary, and unloaded it just past a creek in a nice flat spot. It was fully dark when we positioned the crate facing the woods. Most of us stood way back and our staff vet, Mateus, quickly pulled the door of the crate out and held it in front of himself to act as a shield. (This species’ main defense is to stand on its hind legs and eviscerate an attacker with its large front claws.) We all held our breath and waited in silence for him to rush out, but instead he stayed in the crate for a moment, then stuck only his long, slender nose out, sniffing the air. He took one gradual step at a time until he was fully out of the crate, stopped again to sniff the air for a moment, and then just slowly ambled off into the woods. Our team is currently hard at work building additional wildlife rehab areas, as it can take quite a long time to rehab and release certain species, anteaters in particular. So it feels like a great success to see one reach healthy adulthood and return to his natural habitat. We will continue to offer some food in increasing time intervals in the area of his release as he learns to hunt on his own. There’s a wildlife trail camera on the property, which we are using to see if he returns for any food that’s been left for him. So far, he hasn’t made an appearance. We don’t know if we’ll see Junior again, but we wish him well on his journey. #nonprofit

This week’s Sunday Smile features Mara alongside some of our native wildlife. The sanctuary land is recovering from years of overgrazing by cows; in fact, one could say that the place is flourishing. Animals who haven’t been seen on the property since we broke ground are now appearing everywhere you look. One of those animals is the Buff-necked Ibis, the bird seen here. Mara pops into frame, a very different elephant from the one who was afraid of birds when she first arrived. Look at her now!

Maia, Bambi, and Guillermina have become quite the threesome over the past few months. Guille has been finding her place in the group and they’ve settled in nicely. In this video, you can see Guille standing next to Maia and Bambi, and all are congregating around the mud wallow near the barn. Guille offers up one of her squeaks and nuzzles her head against Maia for a moment. She even gently reaches out for Maia’s mouth with her trunk. Meanwhile, Bambi takes a break, standing behind the other two elephants and resting her extra-long trunk on the ground. Guillermina eventually makes her way over to the tree, where she gives her bottom and side a good scratch. She appears to have an itch on her leg as well, so she scratches that before walking off. It was a pretty typical after-breakfast morning for the three of them, all relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

It’s time once again to announce the release of our annual wall calendar! So many in our sanctuary family look forward to each month’s featured photographs, bonus pictures, and elephant factoids. We’ve scoured our archives to bring you the loveliest images, all reflecting a special moment, friendship, or element of an elephant’s personality. Starting today, you can purchase your own copy – or buy one (or more) as a gift. It’s the best way to bring home a piece of sanctuary life to your home or office. Get your 2025 calendar now. P.S.: the calendar measures 11x17” when unfolded. Buy it today for $24.99 and get free shipping. Buy one here: https://lnkd.in/dPbpFbJh

When you’re the largest land mammal on earth, there’s bound to be some part of your body that’s difficult to access. That can be especially problematic when you feel an itch coming on. Fortunately, elephants are great problem solvers, as you can see here. Bambi and Maia were standing around the mud wallow when Bambi decided to scratch her bottom and scoot around in the mud, which must have been incredibly satisfying. Maia, for her part, walked over to a tree to take care of some of her own itchy areas. Tree bark is an excellent exfoliator, and is often utilized by the girls to scratch just the right spot. Mud and tree bark – they’re nature’s skin soothing technology.

Bambi’s journey to where she is today has been full of significant changes. This video, a throwback to the first day of her relocation, shows how fearful and caked with dead skin Bambi was when we reached her at Ribeirão Preto Zoo. The clip serves as a reminder of how far she’s come physically and, considering her challenging relationship with her fellow zoo elephant Maison, in her connections with others. These days, Bambi is forging her own unique path forward. She’s learning to lean on her friendships with Maia and Guillermina for help when she’s feeling vulnerable about her loss of vision. The three of them are deepening their relationships and bolstering Bambi’s confidence in the meantime. The road ahead of Bambi might be challenging at times, but she’s overcome so much in the past four years. We are her cheerleaders and we do our best to communicate that she can conquer anything that’s put before her. Bambi is a joy and a sweet spirit. We’re honored to have her as part of the sanctuary herd. Happy 4th re-birthday, Bambi. Here’s to many more.

Once again, it’s jackfruit season. Some love it, while others can’t stand the sticky sweet stuff. It’s rare that you’ll find a person – or an elephant – who has a neutral opinion on jackfruit. As expected, Maia and Guillermina stuffed all of the fruit they were given into their mouths and looked for leftovers. Rana has also been enjoying it and hasn’t left a trace of jackfruit anywhere. Mara picks out the messy pieces, one by one, and then eats the skin. Bambi initially wasn’t a huge fan of the skin herself, wanting pieces hand fed to her and throwing them down if they had a tiny piece left on. However, the next day she ate the whole fruit when offered. Perhaps she’s getting less finicky as days go by. In this video, Dr Trish hands Bambi some sticky pieces with the bumpy skin attached. P.S.: This week’s podcast highlights the beginning of the 5-day road trip transporting Pocha and Guillermina to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil. Listen to hear about some of the more complicated, human parts of the journey. https://lnkd.in/e7CX6XVd

At breakfast time, Maia, Bambi, and Guillermina were together, as usual. After breakfast, the caregivers go and do other things while the elephants savor their meal. Then they come back to do Bambi’s eye treatments. This week, by the time we got back to check on Bambi, she and Maia had covered themselves in mud. There was a delightful mid-morning mud party. P.S.: You can see Bambi really get into it, as she squishes her bottom around in the wallow, making sure that every inch gets a nice muddy coating.

We’ve been talking to our caregivers about what it’s like for them to work with elephants, and all the things they are learning. Today, we hear from Luisa about the skills that she thinks are essential as a caregiver assistant. She talks about the importance of teamwork and how being open makes a difference when you are making a connection with another individual.