Mila the elephant is 41 years old and for 37 of those years, she had never had the opportunity to see or interact with another elephant, until recent events changed Mila’s life forever.
Mila was captured and taken from her family in Namibia when she was very young. She was sent to New Zealand, where she spent most of her life as a circus performer. She was finally retired and arrangements were made to move her to a place where she could spend the rest of days with other elephants.
She was transported to the San Diego Zoo in late 2013 and has spent a few months in quarantine to adjust to her new home. But she recently got to meet Mary, the herd matriarch. Although Mary is an Asian elephant, she is known to be patient with new elephants.
It’s wonderful to watch Mila’s first encounter with an elephant since her childhood!
And here is a video of Mila and Mary playing together for the very first time shortly after they met.
Zookeepers are very happy with Mila’s integration into the herd so far. She’s making a new friend with Mary and things look promising with another African elephant, Shaba, as well. Mila’s life will certainly be much better now than it ever was before.
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