Friday, May 14 is the anniversary of Bunny's passing.
A couple of weeks ago, driving out to Marcella's to feed Shirley and Tarra, there came a deep sense of peace, and instantly thoughts went to Bunny. It had rained the night before, and temperatures were cooler. The sometimes- harsh sun of Tennessee was muted and lit up the valleys with a soft glow. Tarra was quietly grazing towards the entrance of the branch where Bunny's body was laid to rest. Shirley was lying down just twenty yards from the space that will forever be marked by a single lone pine, somehow missed when everything around it was cut down. Upon approaching Shirley, she remained in repose, embracing the quiet of the moment, and consumed her hay where she was - she loved Bunny so. That moment, the space, the feelings that are palpable and sweet, their pure love, respectful and eternal; to all of this, the Girls continue to pay tribute.
Bunny was a love. She arrived here in 1999 from Evansville, Indiana when the deep caring of her family there allowed them to let her go. Even though she had not been with another elephant, (she did have weekly visits with a hippo), she quickly became part of the herd and re-learned what it was to be an elephant. During her first month here, she had slept outside lying down, left behind her brown ball "security blanket," gone swimming, ventured into the woods, decided mud wallows were wonderful, and had completely attached herself to Shirley and Jenny.
Bunny was the catalyst for the rest of the Ladies sleeping outside. It seems after all those nights in a barn, she thought gazing up at the stars on a bed of lush grasses was something not to be missed. The outside proved to be very much to her liking, making her always the last one to return to the barn. Caregivers have spent many a cold night slowly escorting Bunny, and any of her companions, back to the warmth of the barn. These treks would have to be started in the afternoon at times, knowing the hours it would take to finally arrive back at the barn.
To say Bunny did not move very fast, is a gross understatement. You could literally park a fourwheeler full of food about fifteen feet from Bunny, feed everyone else, and she would still be slowly making her way over to try to steal what had been there five minutes before. So the trip home was always slow, but when she arrived, there was quite the trumpeting, rumbling, squeaking, and belching celebration. Of course there did not have to be a long walk home to evoke this response. This greeting was something those Girls did every night they returned to the barn. They brought happiness home with them.
Bunny was silly, playful, and always greeted even humans with a warm loving welcome. She was very "trunky," whether it be grabbing Shirley's trunk and not letting go (while Shirley squinted and belched, adoring every minute), trying to wrap herself around a caregiver, or wanting to take your hand and sometimes keep it for a bit. She loved having you cup the end of her trunk-nose, while she heartily exhaled, and you quickly covered and uncovered it. When she got really playful, she would tilt her head back and forth, like an off-axis bobble head, which was generally followed by the above-mentioned Shirley trunk hold. There was no way you could be in her presence and not smile, which usually turned into a giggle.
Just because Bunny was silly doesn't mean that was all there was to her. She was also very deep, loving and supportive. We had all feared what Shirley would go through when Jenny passed, but Bunny stepped right in to be there for her sister. While Jenny was lying down, Shirley and Bunny would walk up to the top of the hill to spend quiet time together alone; thus began the bonding process that took their relationship to an even deeper level. With Bunny's caring ways, Shirley made it through a terribly difficult time in a better way than we had ever hoped. Bunny stepped in as a friend, not like the mother/daughter caregiving relationship which Shirley had with Jenny, but rather more on equal grounds like a sister.
Each elephant that walks on these grounds brings something to the Sanctuary. It may be something that helps them grow, something they offer to their sisters, or the many lessons they teach us. Every spirit here changes the Sanctuary forever, and we are grateful. It can be hard if you think of the Girls in terms of what we have lost by their not being here anymore. Instead, we remember them in terms of what we have gained. These Girls (and our one strong Man) are a blessing and we have much to be thankful for.
So today, we celebrate the life of Bunny—our cute, little, square, tree-wearing, sweet love of an elephant that has touched so many. A piece of her will be in our hearts always.