Tange
The Sanctuary Settles into November
At The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, changing routines accompany the changing weather. With the nights cooling off, the elephants have been spending the daytime hours socializing and grazing out in the habitat, then returning to be nearer their Barns at night…close enough to slip inside for a bit should it begin to feel too chilly for them.
All of the elephants are very different and therefore possess equally as much difference to their personalities and individual preferences—which extends to their climate preferences as well. Minnie, for example, doesn’t seem to mind the cooler days and nights. Flora, however, definitely prefers to spend more time in her heated barn as the days get shorter.
While Asian and African elephants aren’t native to Middle Tennessee, the Girls have all adjusted well to our four seasons. While The Sanctuary’s resident elephants were all born in the wild, they’ve spent most of their lives as captive elephants in places like the American Midwest or New England, where there’s a great deal more “winter” weather than that of the mid-south. As fall transitions into winter here, we’ll be sharing more updates and information on the varying ways that The Elephant Sanctuary makes time spent in the barns as fulfilling and enriching as possible for elephants.
Pumpkin Season
Thanks to our caring and enthusiastic donors, the Girls are able to enjoy pumpkins and other fresh, seasonal produce as a part of their diet. Every one of our Sanctuary elephants has an affinity for pumpkin, and each has her own method for making the most of this autumnal treat.
Tange prefers to put the whole thing in her mouth at once.
Flora will inspect her pumpkin with her trunk, then squish it into more easily-managed pieces.
As many of our EleCam viewers might’ve noticed in recent weeks, our Africa Cam is in need of total replacement…and we would love the help of our loyal and generous base of donors to make it happen. Review our Wish List to see how you can invest in bringing live-streaming video of the African girls back online, supporting the Educational portion of our sanctuary mission.
Ronnie enjoys her pumpkin at the Q Habitat.
Minnie, also a “squish, then eat” Girl when it comes to whole pumpkins.
These pumpkins (purchased out of our Fresh Fruits & Veggies Fund) are more than just snacks; they offer stimuli to the elephants—an opportunity to have a new experience, and to exhibit natural behavior… which is important to their mental wellbeing.
The five elephants at the Asia Barn & Habitat recently got another kind of seasonally-appropriate stimulus, and it was a real scream.