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With Zula's passing last year, Tange and Flora began spending more time together. At first, it seemed that Flora still preferred to have her own space, but lately she seems to be opening up to Tange more often. Tange chooses to spend the majority of her time close to Flora, and over time, Flora has been increasingly accepting of her companionship. You will usually find them hanging out in the same part of the habitat—sometimes separately doing their own things—and sometimes standing together.
Recently, we have noticed that Flora and Tange have been playing together more often. They will chase each other around the habitat, sometimes covering about an acre of land. With Tange, it is very obvious when she is ready to play, as she tucks her head down low and bows down with her ears out. With both Girls spinning around in circles and kicking their legs out behind them, they signal, "Let's Go!" On several occasions, we witnessed Flora getting down on her knees and allowing Tange to wrestle her from above. With their trunks entwined and touching all over each other’s faces, it becomes apparent that these two feel affection towards one another. We are lucky to be witness to these two elephants interacting in such a natural way, and are very happy that the depth of their friendship continues to grow.