The Sleepover
At Q-Barn, putting Minnie, Debbie, and Ronnie together has always been challenging for their Caregivers. Initially, Minnie's rough and tumble behavior was just too much for Ronnie and Debbie, and the best solution was to keep Minnie separated. But as you know, this spring Caregivers began letting the Threesome have daytime play dates which progressed very well throughout the summer. But, after several months of allowing Minnie to play with Debbie and Ronnie and then separating them at night, eventually, the Girls decided they did not want to be separated from one another. At the end of the day, around dinnertime, no matter how many different tactics were tried, the result seemed to be the same: Ronnie would follow her Caregiver amiably enough, but Minnie would not allow Debbie to leave. This behavior would only happen when their Caregiver attempted to lead them apart. The rest of the time, Minnie would be perfectly polite to Debbie.
Minnie and Debbie
After much discussion, we finally decided that if they chose not to separate, we would just have to leave them together and hope for the best. This decision brought lots of apprehension with it. Up until this point, Debbie and Ronnie had only been allowed to "play" with Minnie under Caregiver supervision, just in case Minnie got too rough. But in light of the recent difficulties getting the Girls back to their respective yards, we decided it was time to try a "sleepover."
One day they spent the afternoon way back in Fields 6 and 7, which is a substantial distance from the barn. Their Caregiver fed the three elephants their dinner together. No separation, just enough space between them so that Debbie and Minnie weren't eyeing Ronnie's food while she ate. Later on in the evening, their Caregiver drove out to check on them and see if they would come close to the barn and elect to be separated. To the Caregiver's surprise, on this night they did. Debbie and Ronnie were separated from Minnie with very little fuss. Everyone was happy and relieved for the postponement.
A few days later, their Caregiver fed them in Field 6 again and drove away, leaving them to their own devices. They were checked on again in the early evening. The Girls were still very far away from the barn, now in Field 3, calmly grazing in the dimming light. Just before it got too dark to drive around in the habitat safely, we checked on them one final time. The Girls had moved farther away, still in Field 3, but closer to Barbie's Wash. They still had no interest in returning to the barn. Well, that was it: with the sun's light failing, their Caregiver drove away, simultaneously nervous and comfortable with the Girls' choice.
At the night feeding, there were no Girls waiting at the barn gates. Just the empty night and the blaring chorus of frogs and crickets. The sleepover was really going to happen this time! The Caregiver on grounds was asked to crack the windows that night and listen for any blaring trumpets or angry bellows indicating elephants not getting along. But the night was silent, as if we had no elephants at all.
When morning arrived, their Caregiver anxiously hopped on the 4-wheeler with breakfast loaded up. A million thoughts were running through everyone's heads at this point. Are they all right? Did Minnie get too rough with Debbie? Did she get too rough with little Ronnie? Did they have a wild party and knock down a bunch of trees? Did they head off to explore the far reaches of the habitat together and would they be impossible to find?
Those questions were answered quickly. Their Caregiver found Minnie, Debbie, and Ronnie all quietly munching on the grass in Field 6. No one was hurt, nobody looked stressed. They all looked beautifully peaceful and relaxed. With a sigh of relief, their Caregiver distributed breakfast to everyone and drove away, leaving them to their serenity.
After a period of several nighttime breaks again (the Girls starting coming back to the barn again to be separated) Debbie, Ronnie, and Minnie elected to have another sleepover. Their Caregiver Samantha found them in Field 4 in the late afternoon, heading further out instead of towards the barn. And then she left… much less nervous than last time. Come morning, their Caregiver found them calmly grazing near each other, as if sleepovers happened all the time and they couldn't understand the fuss. We're so happy our Girls are getting along so well!