News and Alerts » October 9, 2007

Ruby, Mara, 71 and Lulu Update – October 9, 2007

ALMOST A HERD
71, Mara, Ruby and Lulu clump together under the shade of an oak tree, butt touching butt, throwing dirt and rumbling the soft rumble that is almost a purr, which is heard so often when wild herds stop to rest. Their careful observation of the rules of etiquette within a herd is humorous to watch as each of these displaced individuals begins the slow process of joining the group which is now, almost a herd.

71, the princess, is happier than we’ve ever seen her as she leads her new best friends, Ruby and Lulu, across the ridge and down the hill, with fun loving Mara trailing behind. It is a great adventure for 71 and Mara as they ramble over familiar territory with new companions anxious to discover the many treasures hidden in the brush and under the trees. When they spread out and explore alone, any strange sound will trigger an alarm and all four will gather in a bunch, trumpeting, rumbling, urinating and defecating in the delicious ceremony of greeting after a separation.

Tiny Lulu is a poignant figure as she shyly pushes her way into the middle of the group, basking in the close proximity of her companions and the gentle trunk touching that precedes any move. This elephant who once threw logs, boulders and feces at anything that crossed her path, now stands quietly in the shadow of her three friends rumbling softly and throwing dirt.

Ruby, who arrived with an attitude about other elephants, stands close to 71 whenever the group stops to rest or contemplate a new project of destruction. Her demons no longer haunt her, and she is amazingly tolerant of Lulu’s overbearing ways and Mara’s goofy play.

The brush pile is always a fun event with Ruby and Lulu wearing branches and twigs on their backs as 71 and Mara seriously consume huge logs. They move from brush pile to mud hole to the huge locust tree, pushing through bushes and grazing on the dry grass. The four elephants have forged a relationship that will obviously endure—they are almost a herd.