One day Bella did not run to greet

One day Bella did not run to greet Tarra in the field. Tarra went to the chain-link fence where the headquarters of the Elephant Sanctuary was located. She shook the fence and rumbled low in her throat. Bella was inside the building. She suffered an injury to her back and was lying partially paralyzed on a table. She raised her head when she heard Tarra’s frantic calls and the rattling of the fence. Scott Blais, the co-founder of the Elephant Sanctuary, carried Bella outside so Tarra could see her. Bella wagged her tail and Tarra pressed her trunk against the fence and touched Bella’s side.
Elephants in the wild communicate throughout the day and night. They constantly touch and smell each member of the herd. Their “words” are vocalizations, and they rumble, trumpet, and squeal. Each elephant has a distinctive voice. They can produce over 70 diverse “words” and the matriarch elephant can distinguish up to 100 different females several miles in each direction. Elephant families will not leave a grove of trees, a meadow, or a watering hole until all of the members are accounted for. Kind of like Tarra.
Bella’s injury healed and the two friends took up their activities throughout the sanctuary. It was this roaming of the property that most likely caused Bella’s death. Late one night, Bella left Tarra’s side to explore a distant part of the refuge. She did not come back in the morning. Tarra left the elephant barn to search for her friend. What happened next is pure speculation on the part of the staff of the Elephant Sanctuary, but when you examine the evidence in light of Tarra and Bella’s friendship, the improbable story is most likely true.
From an examination of Bella’s body, it appears she was attacked and killed by coyotes. Bella’s body was found lying in the grass next to the elephant barn. Tarra stood over the body swaying and kicking clumps of grass over Bella almost as if she was trying to bury her. Her trunk from the nostrils to her mouth was lined with blood. It is believed that Tarra discovered Bella’s body, perhaps up to a mile away, and picked her up. She wrapped her trunk around Bella’s lifeless body and carried her home.
Bella was not an elephant, but Tarra loved her nonetheless. In the wild, elephants stay with injured or dying family members in order to comfort them until they pass away. Tarra, like her ancestors and in spite of her life as a circus performer, did what friends do. She held vigil over Bella’s body until the staff members gently took it away. Tarra’s cries were heard inside the elephant barn. One by one the other elephants in the sanctuary ambled out of the barn and came to Tarra. They touched her with their trunks, offered her food, and stood with her while Tarra grieved for her lost friend.