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African Ele-Diary Each time an African elephant arrives at the Sanctuary we post her progress in this diary. As she adjusts to her new life, entries in her diary are less frequent. On-going entries continue to be posted whenever a new or interesting event occurs. This diary began January 2, 2004 when our elephant transport trailer was delivered to the Chehaw Wild Animal Park in Georgia, in preparation of the move of Tange and Zula, our first African elephants. For weekly updates on all of the elephants at the Sanctuary, visit our Ele-Notes.
May 20, 2009 Many of you have been asking about Queenie and Zula’s necropsy results. In Queenie's case her gross evaluation uncovered only the smallest clue of a twisted gut; one small area in the intestinal tract that had a slight discoloration. She was not impacted and everything else about her intestinal tract looked normal. Queenie had no organ or intestine problems, no disease process and once the necropsy samples were processed the cause of death was determined to be a twisted gut. Flora and Tange are inseparable. Their relationship continues to deepen, which brings joy not only to each other, but also to everyone who cares about their well-being. Today when they dug up a tractor tire from the mud, sharing the popular toy was a challenge. Flora had it first, of course, but Tange had her chance to play with it as well. It seems that every game has a common goal...to win. Flora made every effort to smash the tire against the pipe corral. You would not think of a huge tractor tire as squishy, but that is what it looked like under Tange and Flora pressure. They had a blast!
Dirt + a winter rain = luscious mud; perfect for afternoon playtime. Flora and Tange never let a good mud wallow escape them. Today they literally immersed themselves in the gooey fun! A personal note from Sandra I've been fortunate enough to witness elephants being born. First time mothers and aunties who were baby's themselves when rescued from a cull, so how do they know what to do with their new born calves? They kick them gently when the calf needs to get up, they put the calf in the center of the herd when danger is approaching. How do they know what to do? Is it their instinct, their intelligence? Is it this same instinct and greater intelligence that makes them much more capable dealing with the death of a loved one then we are? Putting my arms around Tanges trunk and looking up into her wise big brown eyes I feel the vibration of her deep soft rumble. I know she's hurting, but there is this calmness about her that is nurturing. She is teaching us to accept death as much as you would accept life. Zula’s grain bucket was always half full, never half empty. She took the positive way in life. If she couldn’t climb that hill today, she would try it again the next day. The last year Zula has climbed hills with amazing grace and ease. She would never give up and knew that one day she would climb any hill she wanted to. We should honor her by trying to climb our hill of acceptance, because we know that’s what she would do. It’s not easy, as it still hurts so much. But with little steps and the elephants as our teachers, we too will climb that hill with grace. Sandra de Rek
Tange and Flora have spent the past 2 days in each other's constant company. They were not present during Zula’s burial, but afterwards had access to Zula’s resting place. Footprints in the dirt around Zula’s resting site confirm that Zula’s sisters have already visited. Today, Tange and her caregiver went out together to visit Zula. Tange was tentative and smelled around the area. Later Tange and her caregiver went into the woods to sit and spend some quite time near Zula’s gravesite. Tange was relaxed, staying in the area eating her hay until her caregiver headed back to the barn, at which time Tange followed her. Our necropsy team from the University of Georgia arrived at the break of dawn. Along with Dr. Mikota, Dr. Scott and Sanctuary staff, the team outlined the procedure emphasizing their condolences for our loss. Each procedure objective was accompanied by a request for permission to remove the specific sample, the team members so cognizant of the impact the invasive procedure would have on the loved ones left behind. The team's sensitivity allowed us all to come together for a job we know was vital and heartbreaking. It is with great sorrow that we report that today we lost another of our precious elephants. Even if we were prepared for the loss, even if we had received some advance notice, the shock and sadness would not be diminished. But the suddenness of Zula’s passing has shaken us to our core. Zula, “big sister” and dearest friend to Tange, the nurturer, mature and kind, known to be gentle to everyone she ever met, left us tonight just after 11pm. By all accounts she was healthy and thriving when shortly after entering the barn for an evening meal she was found lying on the floor, struggling to rise. With her caregivers and vets at her side, Zula received emergency medical care in an effort to relieve her anxiety, encourage her to relax and regain her strength, and enable her to rise. When it was determined that the next step would be to hoist Zula onto her feet, she took her last breath and passed away. Zula’s sudden death leaves us with more questions than answers. The deep sorrow is felt by caregivers and elephant family alike. Zula remained in the barn with her sisters while arrangements were made for her necropsy and burial. |
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