Delhi - The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee

Delhi and the girls

Diary Entries after Sept. 9, 2004

Diary Entries in 2003 when Delhi first arrived at the Sanctuary

September 9 , 2004

Today marks one month that Delhi has been a free elephant. What an inspiration!

August 9, 2004 11:45AM CT

Delhi's quarantine is officially over. Carol opens the gate and Delhi is free to go.

Delhi's Journey - (streaming media) Follow along in her footsteps as she enters the wilderness paradise at the Elephant Sanctuary where she is now spending her first weeks of freedom.

Tarra has been waiting for days to make Delhi's acquaintance and wastes no time crossing the pasture to meet her. The interaction is pleasant yet uneventful. Joanna and Scott come to congratulate Delhi on her release and then off she goes, leaving Tarra and Bella behind.

Free at last....

Delhi and her caregivers have waited too long for her introduction to her new family and release into the habitat. Delhi did well throughout her quarantine but near the end she began to show a yearning to interact with the other elephants. It was painful to watch the other elephants pace around Delhi's yard and not be able to get close. Finally her quarantine is lifted and Delhi is free to go! After meeting Tarra close and personal, Delhi wasted no time exiting her quarantine yard and heading directly into the habitat. She was in no great hurry; there was no "granny dash" but she was definitely curious of her new surroundings. She walked across the open pasture to the creek that divides the valley. She dusted in the fresh dirt and sampled the china grass growing along the creek.

This vegetation is new to Delhi and from the look on her face and her grazing activity, the china grass was a big hit. Delhi followed her nose, munching on trunkfulls of the succulent mini bamboo grass until she reached an area that used to be one of Barbara's favorites. This is an area of the creek that has dense vegetation, trees and more china grass then Delhi could consume in a week, but she was determined to try. That night Carol set out her sleeping bag on the edge of the dry creek bed to monitor Delhi during her first night. Just a good excuse to spend the night out under the stars in the company of the great beasts.

See Slide Show!

August 7, 2004

As per the USDA requirements, Delhi remains in quarantine. Talk about a precedent setting case. Delhi has contributed volumes to her species including, possibly, the longest quarantine on record. The caution is a safeguard for the health of unexposed elephants. Delhi's extended quarantine meets USDA requirements which applies not only to Delhi but to all the members of the Hawthorn herd. We do not know where all of the Hawthorn elephants will be placed, but we do suspect that they will be kept separate from non-exposed elephants for an extended period of time to ensure everyone's health.

Delhi seems to be enjoying her new yard and all of the regular pampering that she has grown so accustomed to. One of our avid EleCam viewers captured Delhi turning over her water bucket and being visited by the portable shower wagon...pulled by the infamous 4-wheeler.

Ever since Delhi moved over to the new yard Tarra has been anxious to make her acquaintance. Delhi's integration into the herd cannot come soon enough for Tarra.

July 28, 2004

After a refreshing bath, Delhi made her way down the back alley which leads to the night yard, an 8-acre yard adjacent to the main habitat. She accessed the area and decided to go into the area where Tina used to spend all of her time when she was outside. Delhi walked all the way into the trees and started munching on the lush vegetation. She was in ele-heaven all day. As the sun was setting, Delhi settled in for a long nap. She is very comfortable with the move which allows her to be closer to her soon-to-be-found freedom, and the other elephants. This move affords Delhi with more space while adhering to her quarantine requirement.

July 27, 2004

This time of year the elephants are outside 24/7. Sissy and Winkie used to come backto the barn at night just to be with Tina. Since Tina's death,we have seen a shift in the elephants' behavior. They are spending much more time together. Sis and Winks no longer return to the barn each night; instead, they remain with the other elephants in the habitat. Since the main Asian barnis now empty, Delhi has moved in. At 7:00 p.m. CT, she walked right past the quarantine barn into the main Asian barn. After a quick inspection, she proceeded directly outside to the back alley. With a sparkle in her eye, she checked it out then came back inside to inspect her new spacious barn, complete with automatic waterers. EleCam viewers were given a late night treat watching Delhi play with the suspended tire and explore her new surroundings.

Delhi had a great time playing with a branch that started out as a toy and ended up as a snack.

At 10:00 p.m. Delhi had not come into the barn; instead, she was fast asleep in the pasture. At 11:00 p.m. she woke up and was ready for her late night feed...outside. It was obvious that she had no desire to come in. When checked at 12, 1, 2 & 3 a.m., she was still contently grazing away with no interest in returning to the barn. For the first time since her arrival, Delhi decided to spend the entire night outside. We could not be more pleased that she is comfortable enough to stay out all night.

Delhi enjoys a rainy day playing, then grazing, and then playing and grazing at the same time...so many choices.

Delhi enjoyed this treat sent by Linda Dice, Jac Hone, Trish Kirk, Toni Miles, Karen Gaines, Margot Bowen, Lee Arami, and Angelika Mundt in honor of BONNIE BURN'S May 10th birthday.

Delhi's x-rays indicate that her condition is stable. It is hard to determine if there is improvement at this early stage but judging from her attitude, weight gain and improvement in the condition of her feet, we continue to be optimistic.

Delhi has been enjoying the great weather and rapidly growing pasture grasses. Even though the grasses are hardly long enough to graze, she spends all day walking around happily grazing away. Right now she favors clover. If she can entice a keeper to detour from their appointed duties long enough to toss her a few soccer balls she will engage in play behavior resembling that of a rambunctious baby elephant. Her enthusiasm for life is infectious. After the ball game she will graze a little more and then fold to the ground for a well deserved nap!

More x-rays were taken of Delhi's feet yesterday. She has finally gotten over her fear of the x-ray machine, she did great! Her feet continue to heal and her spirits are high.

Many of you will notice that she Delhi put on a bit of weight. She has a very healthy appetite. Our challenge is making sure she does not gain too much weight.

Today Delhi enjoyed the sun, grazing and bathing. She has a new water trough big enough to soak herself fully. It has an automatic float so no matter how much water she uses the trough always remains full, she likes that idea. We are all very anxious for her to be released from quarantine so she can join the other elephants and discover the ponds. Until then, her mini-pond will suffice.

Delhi has had a great couple of days outside enjoying the sun and activity around the barn. She was observed playing with her pile of balls today. Several have strings attached which she grabs with her trunk and flings around and onto her back. Delhi has also developed a fondness for the Sanctuary dogs. She waits for the dogs to come running by and then joins them with her signature Granny-dash. Two more months until she is allowed to join the herd.

Delhi was feeling quite feisty today. After her nap she wanted to play. She prefers kick ball but also like to play tag..."you're it", with the dogs and anyone else who will join in. This is great exercise for Delhi and shows that she is feeling pretty good.

Delhi continues to recover daily. We are seeing a marked improvement in the pads of her front feet which are callusing, regenerating into a thick pad. The daily foot soaks and Greentwo salve, along with a healthy diet and exercise have paid off. Delhi is moving more freely. She no longer has that sprawled stance she had when she first arrived and spends much of her time playing. Today it was raining, so mud became her focus. She spent the afternoon playing in the mud outside the front door of her barn. At one point something caught her fancy and she did the "granny dash" down the lane out into her yard disappearing around the hill. Without hesitation she did a full body slam into a soft mountain of hay created by a "round bale" that she had demolished earlier. She must feel good because she is playful, active and in good spirits.

January 20, 2004

Delhi had the first in a series of trunk washes this morning. Dr. Scott arrived just after dawn to observe as keepers collected a sample of fluid from Delhi's trunk. This procedure is not new to Delhi. Over the past several years she has had this procedure numerous times. Federal law requires that all elephants are tested for tuberculosis annually. The reason why Delhi had been tested more often is that one of the elephant she lived with at the Hawthorn Corporation suffered from TB. Although Delhi has never had TB nor does she exhibit any signs of TB, monthly trunk washes are being done as a precautionary measure before allowing her in with the other elephants. Once Delhi has completed six months of tests she will be allowed to join the other girls.

January 18, 2004

Delhi really is a great-escape artist. This evening when she was ready to come into the barn she did not wait for an escort. She simply pushed on the chain hard enough to spring the lock and nonchalantly walked up the corridor to the barn. There was no danger of her getting into an area that she should not because of the Delhi-designated corridor that leads from her yard to her barn, but it is humorous to see how spunky she is. Looks like a chain and average size padlock are not going to be sufficient to secure Delhi, so we will have to graduate to a giant size lock. Can't wait for Delhi to have access to the habitat! She is going to be a joy to watch.

Delhi enjoys a mild January day at the Sanctuary

January 14, 2004

Delhi's x-rays were read today. The good news is that the infections have not gotten worse. It is hard to judge how much better the condition is at this early stage.

The x-rays have been sent to The University at Knoxville to be read by Dr. Ramsay and compared to her first x-rays. Our goal is to see steady progress which we believe the x-rays suggest. This will be a slow process, but if we succeed the infection will be stopped.

The weather has been glorious, in the high 50s, beautiful weather for January. Delhi has been outside every day for the past week.

Many of you have seen her on the EleCam and commented on her antics on the Elephant Chat Discussion Board.

Sanctuary for Delhi

January 1, 2004

Delhi spent all day outside. She watched as Jenny, Shirley, Bunny, Sissy and Winkie made their way out into the habitat to enjoy the sun and a leisurely nap. She could even see Jenny scale the hill on her climbing excursion. Shirley stood in the pasture, waiting patiently as Jenny "did her thing". When Jenny finally returned Shirley greeted her and Jenny folded down onto the grass for a well earned nap.

Delhi explored her entire yard, watched Scott as he prepared the elephant trailer for the trip to Georgia to pick up Tange and Zula and napped in her favorite spot under the trees. She woke to find Tarra sleeping on the hill behind her.

Delhi knows everything the other girls are doing. Luckily she is more patient then her caregivers. We cannot wait for her to join her new family. In the afternoon Delhi solicited Scott for a friendly soccer match...guess who won.

See Slide Show!