Long post, beware. I went to NZP yesterday primarily to say goodbye to Shanthi in case it's the last time I see her. We've been given ample ànnouncements describing the failure of treatments to help her debilitating arthritis, so euthanasia is not far off. I wanted to give the assistant manager something for her, a picture of our two pugs Ambika and Shanthi from 2006 that she could first smell me from, then eat. I wanted some time to stare into her gaze, and I hoped for a moment to get some kind of unobstructed pictures of her face. Due to a holiday schedule of yard pairings, she was in the barn nearly all day, and I hardly saw her at all. However, I spent some unusual time with the Calgary girls and heard stories from the assistant manager, and it ended up being a day when I could finally imagine peace and happiness in the Elephant House in an era post-Shanthi and Ambika.
We old-timers have thought of Shanthi and Ambika as family, certainly the standbearers of the NZP herd. When Komala, Swarna, and Rani arrived in 2014, they seemed, well lol, deranged. If a bird so much as tweeted, Rani ran around trumpeting, with Komala and Swarna on the run to see what was wrong. We knew they had been violent, and we knew that together, Komala and Rani had let
one of Rani and Spike's calves die. When Swarna was given some time with the trio (Ambika, Bozie, and Shanthi), she used every opportunity to dart in to hurt Ambika. Because Rani happened to be our precious Kandula's aunt and couldn't breed him, he was sent away to OKC. And Komala could be so nasty that the gentlemanly Spike knocked her over one day in the fall. It was hard to imagine how the Elephant House could ever be a happy place again.
But keepers had been making small strides, inch by inch, personally with each of the girls. I learned that Rani was often violent to Swarna and her mother, so they had all lived in this state of hyperattention and high anxiety and always being on the offensive, But Komala especially was very smart and loved learning behaviors with her keepers more than charging around. They let Swarna spend more and more time with the trio, and she seemed much more relaxed.
I spent much more time with Komala and Swarna yesterday than I ever had and more than I did with anyone else. New Year's Day is the birthday for all animals born in the wild with no known birth month or date. This meant that Shanthi, Bozie, Swarna, and Komala (all from the Sri Lankan Pinnewela Elephant Orphanage in 1976) were all turning 45, and grande dame Ambika was turning 72. It seemed clear later that Ambika and Shanthi had been kept in the barn due to their painful walking. They briefly appeared a few steps outside the barn door to have some presents, but Shanthi again resumed her sway. While stereotypical 15 years ago, the upswing of her right foot now is probably more to take pressure off her right wrist, which only makes it sadder to see, as they are clearly no longer able to manage her pain. Ambika stepped gingerly, as if fragile. She has aged visibly in the last three months, as if suddenly suffering more in sympathy with Shanthi. They both seemed very old and delicate, soon taking their few steps to get back into the barn.
But the time I spent with Komala and Swarna made me think they were happier. I had seen a very sweet and emotional side to Swarna once when I saw how close and tender her relationship is with Spike, who carressed her and curled his trunk around her face. The Swarna I saw yesterday on her 45th birthday looked dramatically different from the tough little Napoleon type who once always seemed to be scowling. All furrows had disappeared from her face, and she looked as radiant and wide-eyed as Dumbo. She took glee in her birthday watermelon, cardboard boxes, and pineapple and looked up as we sang. She looked truly content. Komala surprised everyone with the speed and gusto she exercised downing her huge painted cardboard boxes, only later considering the contents. She took her watermelon directly to her mouth--no wasting time with the foot method! Some big chomps and it was gone. By the time she slowed down to eat her smaller treats, though, she looked older than her three age-mates. She has an irregular gait, a sign she is indeed suffering from arthritis, despite the IRAP treatments intended to prevent it worsening. She looks like she's had a hard life dealing with her violent daughter. For the first time ever, I felt for them both and hoped that they could be truly happy in their new year.
What made this hope seem possible was hearing stories of the effect Bozie has had on Rani. I did a doubletake. Maharani? Really? I never needed convincing of Bozie's awesomeness after witnessing her fierce protection of Ambika from Swarna or seeing her become Shanthi's very first best friend. Shy Shanthi has always been fond of food, but stoic. Then Bozie made Shanthi her best friend. Oh my, was this a sight to behold! On World Elephant Day two years ago, it rained--and everyone knows when it rains, Ambika takes a dip. The three ladies were shifted into Spike's big pool yard and said their goodbyes before getting in and being practically on top of each other. Frolicking ensued until the keepers decided a good downpour had been had by all. Bozie climbed out and stood there practically champing at the bit for Ambika to lumber out,. As Shanthi stepped out, she and Bozie had a full-on vocalizing reunion filled with trunk embraces as if they had just been reunited after years apart! Bozie has managed to give of herself precisely what each elephant needs of her and has never had. I loved that Shanthi and Ambika were getting so much good from her.
Well, I never quite believed that Bozie could have much effect on the Calgary girls, but apparently Bozie and Rani have been paired up!. This I never thought would happen, but Bozie is teaching Rani how to have fun. One day they walked the Trek together, and even though Rani is 18 years younger, it was Bozie who raced ahead, turning around to hustle up her walking mate, even pointing out a treat left by the side of the path. She did this the whole way like a little girl all excited. Rani didn't understand. Later Bozie rolled around in the sand on her back inside wiggling her legs and vocalizing, clearly having a ball. Rani looked on as if it was strange. Her life had been so much about anxiety and lashing out that she never really learned what it could feel like to have fun. Now, with Bozie, who always stood up to her, she may realize from someone she respects that there is something more enjoyable than aggression.
Thus, the final thought of my day was not sadness over Shanthi, but joy in Bozie. She's given so much to Ambika and Shanthi, each just what they needed, and now to know how to give Rani what she needs without provoking her aggression. Keeper Becky announced that Rani and Spike were together because she was coming into heat today and that they were going to see if they could have a baby in the next couple years or so. That was a relief, that there may not be a time clock ticking down the days until Spike leaves. So it seems as if the SSP is planning on Spike being around for the foreseeable future.
Imagine Bozie's affect on Rani's ability to be a better mother! On Rani's capability for happiness. On the clearly happier Swarna and Komala. She's already given Shanthi and Ambika so much, and this ability to understand what other herdmates need and try to provide it is surely the very definition of an excellent matriarchal figure. I didn't get my heart-to-heart with Shanthi, but maybe what I did get was even better and more surprising, a vision of the eventual herd of Bozie, Swarna, Rani, and Komala living as one group happily, perhaps even with a calf. Bozie may just enable future happiness for a united NZP herd.
