After five days of a long and tiring journey, but without any unforeseen events, the Asian elephants Pocha, 55, and Guillermina, 22, finally arrived at the SEB (Sanctuary of Elephants Brazil) in Chapada dos Guimarães, metropolitan region of Cuiabá, the place that will be the The duo’s new home.
The truck that brought a mother and daughter from Mendonza, Argentina, to Mato Grosso, parked at the sanctuary around 11 am this Thursday (12). A group of specialists and veterinarians were on site to welcome them.
The first box out of the truck was the one that brought Pocha. It was placed at the entrance to the sanctuary’s veterinary center, the only covered space in the space, which is used for medical care and training of animals arriving in their new habitat.
As soon as the first box was opened, a feast of fruits, vegetables, and palm and tree leaves was waiting for Pocha. Despite the treats on offer, Pocha remained suspicious, surveying the new location—her last move had been 54 years ago, since she left Germany for Argentina.
Pocha stayed there for hours, throwing earth with her trunk on her body to scare away the insects and protect herself from the sun, until a sudden rain came. Pocha wasted no time and, with the mud that formed, he smeared his body, a game that elephants love.
Until the end of the afternoon of this Thursday (12), Pocha still hadn’t left the box, he was always going back and forth, signaling that he was in doubt about his movements. As soon as Pocha leaves the box, it will be his daughter Guillermina’s turn.
THE Sheet Daniel Moura, biologist and director of the SEB, explains that this process may or may not be time-consuming, but that it is important to leave the animal in charge to facilitate the trust process.
Even with Pocha’s delay, the biologist believes that in Guillermina’s case the stage will be faster, since she will see her mother inside the SEB’s veterinary center.
Daniel says that the space is the first place that the animals know in the sanctuary. “If they don’t want to take a shower in the rain, they run here, but since they love the rain, they rarely come,” he says.
The place is necessary for the animals to go through the adaptation and training process and for veterinarians to access the animals’ bodies for care.
“We call it positive reinforcement. We give them some things they like to eat, like fruits, so that they allow us to train them, so that they receive commands and they can allow us to access paw, ear, part of the body. their bodies”, he explains.
Daniel points out that this process can also be time consuming.
“They don’t go through a battery of tests as soon as they arrive. The elephant must first allow them to access it.”
Pocha and Guillermina lived in a kind of moat measuring approximately six meters in the Ecoparque in Argentina. “Here they leave tiny places for a gigantic place with natural vegetation, with other elephants to socialize”, says the biologist.
“This makes all the difference in the process of recovering the physical and mental health of these animals who have lived in inappropriate situations their entire lives. Pocha for at least 55 years in the same corner and Guillermina for 22 years, since she was born. saw nothing but the moat in which she lived”, he sums up.
After the adaptation process and the appropriate examinations, Pocha and Guillermina will be able to leave the veterinary center for other enclosures, which are places of 10,000 mtwo at 20 thousand mtwo.
In these other stages, the approximation with Maia, Rana, Lady, Mara and Bambi, the other elephants who live in the sanctuary, will take place “in the time of the new arrivals”, say those responsible.
“The first contacts take place in the initial enclosures. There, as there are bars, they touch each other, smell each other, if they so desire. And the trust goes to them, whether they allow approximation or not”, he says.
Also according to the biologist, there is no risk of a fight between residents and newcomers. “There won’t be one elephant chasing the other. This doesn’t happen because their approach only happens when one allows it. They exchange signals, when it’s time to approach or when they want to be alone. They are very polite and communicative.”
Pocha and Guillermina traveled since last Saturday (7) by truck. In all, the two traveled 3,228 km to their final destination.
With 1,100 hectares (equivalent to seven Ibirapuera parks, in São Paulo), SEB is the first place in Latin America dedicated to the conservation of these animals.
The place has a medical area, water tanks and a food sector. The elephants receive daily care and have 29 hectares of space to roam – only the adapted areas, not the entire land, are allowed to the animals, so that they can be properly monitored.
Pocha is described as a “quiet and protective mother”, while Guillermina “has a “great personality” and acts like a spoiled child, as being young she doesn’t know the proper behavior of elephants.
According to information from the sanctuary, Pocha was born in 1967 in Germany and arrived in Argentina the following year. She has pale pink skin with black spots, with the depigmentation that is common in Asian elephants.
Guillermina has a small frame, firm skin and a small belly. And even though she has lived her entire life in captivity, she does show energy for play.
In addition to the arrival of Pocha and Guillermina, the SEB is still awaiting the authorization of the license to bring Tamy, Guillermina’s father, who is of the Asian species and is 50 years old.
Another awaiting a “visa” is Kenya, a 35-year-old African elephant. However, the necessary permits for the transfer of both to the sanctuary are still in progress.
