Winkie posed for a closeup as Shirley munched on hay in the background.
This past week, Caregiver Carol D. had just finished preparing diets when she had a special encounter with Winkie: "Knowing that Winkie and Sissy had spent the cold evening in the barn, I had hoped to get some photos of them in the north meadow, near the barn, before they wandered deep into the habitat. Shirley came out first and moved out into the meadow to browse on fresh hay dropped there.
Sissy, followed by Winkie as usual, soon came out of the barn headed toward the north meadow. Sissy continued walking out to the hay pile not far from Shirley, but Winkie was interested in this person with a camera standing on a rise just outside of the meadow fencing (me). At a pace fast for humans but slow for elephants, Winkie came right over to investigate. She put her trunk up and over the top of the fencing and pointed it directly at the camera, then rested it on the top fence rail. Trunks are heavy!" While the encounter resulted in some priceless photographs - Carol quickly finished taking pictures and encouraged Winkie to rejoin her sisters before they ate up her share of the hay.
Winkie reaches her trunk out to investigate, giving her full frontal view to the camera.
Fences are handy when your trunk needs a rest.
Tarra's wiley eating habits were caught on the Elecam late one afternoon this week. She was in the north meadow near the barn where Caregivers had dropped several flakes of hay along with some produce just for her. Hay had also been dropped in various meadow locations for all of the Girls in preparation for feeding. Winkie and Sissy were waiting patiently at one meadow gate for Caregivers to open it (The fence had been temporarily closed to ensure the safety of the facilities crew who were working on a maintenance project.) Tarra, meanwhile, was enjoying her meal and probably watching, with one eye, Winkie and Sissy at the gate. Taking advantage of the fact that she momentarily had no competition for all of the hay, Tarra left her own pile to steal another one intended for Sis or Winks. Did she eat the pile there? No...she scooped it up and walked right back over to her previous spot, where she promptly added it to her pile, doubling its size and began eating it as if to say, "What, someone took your hay?"
The gate was opened and Winkie and Sissy headed for the meadow with what had once been several piles of nice hay. When Tarra saw them coming, she grabbed several pieces of remaining produce and turned her back to Winkie and Sissy as if to hide what she was eating!
Flora captured on film in the middle of bouncing trees;
a great way to spend her anniversary in Sanctuary.
March 3 was a very special day - two of our Girls celebrated anniversaries. Happy Anniversary to Tarra, who Found Sanctuary March 3, 1995, and Flora, who Found Sanctuary March 3, 2004!