Global Sanctuary for Elephants

Global Sanctuary for Elephants Protecting, rescuing, and providing sanctuary for elephants worldwide. Elephant Sanctuary Brazil
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Elephant Sanctuary Brazil was a project many years in the making, but didn’t take tangible form until 2016. The only sanctuary for elephants in Latin America is situated on 2800-acres of incredibly diverse property in the municipality of Chapada dos Guimarães, Brazil. ESB isn’t developed with an altruistic view of what sanctuary should be; but instead is guided by the elephants of our past. They

allowed us to be part of their lives and taught us what elephants need to heal from the darkest of traumas. Out of respect for what they have shared, we carry that forward with the elephants of today and the future. To read a more detailed layout of our principles and objectives of sanctuary, please visit our website at www.globalelephants.org.

On a recent morning, Bambi, Maia, and Guillermina all came to the barn at breakfast, and we opened up so they could have...
06/08/2026

On a recent morning, Bambi, Maia, and Guillermina all came to the barn at breakfast, and we opened up so they could have the chance to eat inside as a group. The girls were caked with dirt and being very silly, so we’re guessing they’d been in the mud wallow. Sometimes they are vocal with their care team in the mornings, but normally they are pretty chill and ready to eat. So, it was fun to see them really energetic and engaged with each other.

Guillermina decided she would take her hay over near Bambi, who was getting her meal just a few feet away. Caregivers hand-feed Bambi some of her food, since she sometimes has a little trouble determining where all of her fruits and veggies are if they’re laid on the ground. We want to make sure that she gets every bite, so we make sure things are close to her nose when she eats. Bambi must have been feeling particularly spunky because, each time the caregiver would stop to reach for another piece of food, she would lean over and sneak a bite of Guille’s hay. Considering she’s usually on the other end of transactions like this, Bambi’s boldness gave us all a chuckle.

In this photo, Guille (left) is standing next to Bambi while Maia snacks on the right.

06/07/2026

This Sunday, we’re not only bringing you a smile, but we’re also offering an easygoing vibe for the afternoon. Mara (front) and Rana (back) were headed out into the habitat when they both decided to take a pause to graze a little and relax a lot. Their stillness reflects their comfort with each other, as does their relaxed nature and closeness. There’s something about elephants simply enjoying the rain that we’ll miss when dry season arrives. Until then…

When sharing videos of the sanctuary residents, we often receive questions about their gaits, particularly about Rana an...
06/05/2026

When sharing videos of the sanctuary residents, we often receive questions about their gaits, particularly about Rana and Mara. You may have noticed that Mara has an old permanent injury to her right front wrist, affecting her walk, and Rana has a fused elbow from a childhood injury which makes her gait quite noticeable as well. For today’s EleFact, we want to look a bit closer at elephant limbs and movement.

The limbs of an elephant are positioned directly under their body with their bones stacked on top of one another in order to best support their weight. Their front leg joints bend backwards, like the wrists of humans, which is the opposite of most other four-legged mammals. Their back legs are slightly longer than the front, but their high shoulders make the front limbs look longer. The back legs have knees with kneecaps.

Their limbs, and bodies in general, are built to move: we know that some elephants will walk hundreds of miles for food and water, and their anatomical makeup helps with that. The bones of an elephant’s limbs are long and spongy and made up of small, needle-like pieces of bone arranged like a honeycomb (instead of hollow parts that contain bone marrow). This allows for stronger bones while still promoting blood cell production. Both the front and back limbs can support an elephant’s weight, although the front bears sixty percent. An elephant’s bones are much wider than most mammals, which gives them a thicker cross-sectional area and makes them more resistant to the type of stresses that can cause breaks.

As far as their gaits, elephants only have one, compared to horses, who have three. Although elephants can reach top speeds of 15 miles per hour, which would typically be considered a gallop, the elephants can not be considered as runners because their four feet do not ever leave the ground at one time.

Photo of Maia

06/04/2026

In this week’s podcast episode, we explore something that seems to contradict much of what we’ve discussed in past episodes: Why do inherently social, deeply bonded elephants sometimes choose solitude, even when given the opportunity to build relationships at a sanctuary?

How can an elephant who has never — or only briefly — experienced life within a true herd suddenly be expected to behave the way we think they should? How much do trauma, captivity, and personal choice shape social tolerance and connection?

And does physical separation really mean these elephants are disconnected, or are they still bonded in ways we humans cannot fully see, sense, or understand?

This video is just a small snippet from the full episode of our podcast, Global Rumblings. Listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts, on our website at GlobalElephants.org/podcast or on our YouTube channel (link in bio). Global Rumblings takes listeners behind-the-scenes through the experiences of our founders, Scott and Kat Blais, with our host

06/03/2026

After breakfast along the fence line, Maia, Guillermina, and Bambi positioned themselves near the barn in the morning. All three of them were encouraged to come inside for their morning treatments, and they readily joined their caregivers. (Maia and Guille are having footwork done and Bambi gets her daily eye drops.) After their care sessions, Bambi was first to leave the barn, eventually calling her two friends to walk with her; the three elephants headed together toward the back of Yard 2.

The neighboring gate to Yard 5 was open, and all three strolled through, in the direction of the tree line. Guille and Maia eased over that way first, moving carefully, but at a steady pace. Bambi began to make her way toward them at her slightly slower speed, but Guille and Maia were right there should Bambi need someone to walk with her. It’s important to Bambi’s sense of self-confidence and self-esteem that she learns to manage her vision loss on her own terms, which might mean depending on some of her other senses to navigate the terrain. She seems to appreciate that her companions stick close, but is so far doing well at moving through familiar routes.

Bambi continued to make her way to the trees and to her friends, and you can see that when she’s not walking with them, her ears are out so that she can hear where they are and what direction sounds are coming from. She sometimes took a few steps and then paused with her ears sticking out. Eventually, Bambi decided to snack near where Maia was standing and the two spent a good bit of the afternoon there. It was a quiet day, and a great example of how friends can be there for you and still allow you to try new things on your own. It’s a delicate balance, but all of these elephants seem to be supporting each other very sweetly.

For the last several weeks, we’ve been sharing stories from caregivers who have a unique perspective on the behaviors an...
06/01/2026

For the last several weeks, we’ve been sharing stories from caregivers who have a unique perspective on the behaviors and personalities of the elephants. Members of the care team generally work with the same individual elephants much of the time with each elephant having at least two caregivers; people occasionally rotate, but it’s important that they truly get to know the specific elephants in their care, since it makes them more effective, intuitive, and empathetic when interacting with each animal.

This week, we hear from Sharon, who is gaining Mara’s trust over time:

Mara is a very interesting elephant, though, at first, she seemed very intimidating to me. She has these beautiful deep golden eyes that look right through you, and she loves to observe every little detail; you can feel her watching and studying you. And that’s just who she is: a very curious elephant.

She was a bit hard to read at first, but I feel like I'm slowly getting to know her better, and she can be such a sweet girl. She is Rana’s best friend, and wherever Rana goes, Mara will follow and vice versa. They get into mischief together, as sometimes, when it’s time for dinner, we caregivers come on 4-wheelers with their food, and have to figure out where Mara and Rana are. They will play hide and seek sometimes, waiting for us to go past them at least once before showing up by the fence, ready for their meal. They often enjoy hanging out near the mud wallow, where there is this very big tree that creates the perfect shady spot to relax.

Since I started doing her treatments, she’s shown me just how clever she can be and how happy she is to cooperate. She presents a level of trust towards us caregivers that teaches me an important lesson about forgiveness. Despite everything she went through in her past, she is still willing to give us a chance to show her that we can be better, to ourselves and to others too.
During treatment, when she does the behavior I asked for, I usually reply with “Very good Mara!” and in immediate response, she squeaks as if to say “I did it!” and happily eats her reward treat. It’s a real blessing to be able to work with her and get to know her better every day.

05/31/2026

For this week’s Sunday Smile, we’re highlighting the three elephants–Maia (left), Bambi (middle), and Guillermina (right) while they enjoy their morning hay. All of them came together as breakfast was being served and began to vocalize, though they stopped when the camera was turned on. Guillermina decided to take an extra-big bite and head into the trees to finish it. It’s rare for the two other girls to share her food, since she often eats it more quickly than they do (though she has competition from Maia). Guille didn’t seem to have a desire to be away from her companions as much as she appeared to want a shady spot to snack.

05/30/2026

We’ve had a couple questions lately about the way the sanctuary elephants use their trunks to catch or suck up water. Elephants can’t actually drink water through their nose. They use them like straws to suck in water and then spray the water into their mouths. A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology found that elephants can hold about 5.5 liters of water (about 1.5 gallons) in their trunk at one time. They even found that elephants can dilate their nostrils, making the trunk walls thinner and the space inside larger, increasing the amount of water they can hold by 64%!

05/29/2026

Some mornings, there’s not much for elephants or people to say–and that’s okay. Instead, it’s best to let nature speak for itself. There are certain days that should be met with bird songs and rain falling on the trees, rather than our own personal commotion. In this video, Scott softly greeted Rana (left) and Mara (right) as they came to the fence line awaiting their breakfast and perhaps a quick hello. They were relaxed, but seemed more interested in their morning meal than in vocalizing.

Sometimes elephants just want to share quiet moments with their companions and their caregivers. Those times together are just as special as the ones when the elephants are vocal and rumbling and squeaking–if not more so. Currently, we’re lucky enough to have five amazing elephants share their lives and their emotions with us. The only expectations we set are for ourselves and what we owe these girls. Otherwise, we celebrate the gentler times when everyone seems content, easygoing, and bright-eyed.

Recently, we opened up all of the yards for the elephants to share after lunch, separating the two groups into neighbori...
05/27/2026

Recently, we opened up all of the yards for the elephants to share after lunch, separating the two groups into neighboring yards before night time arrived. We offered Mara and Rana Yard 5, and then 1 and 2, near the barn. Bambi, Maia, and Guillermina occupied Yard 4 and Yard 3, which is also close to the barn. That configuration meant that the two groups of girls shared a smaller fence line, along with the main divider fence line and could meet across the barrier, should they choose to.

Because it was the later part of the evening, caregivers kept an eye on the elephants using the observation camera, and they saw Guille standing in the spot where Yards 3 and 4 meet Yard 2. Mara and Rana were nearby in Yard 2 and walked over to meet Guille where she was resting. The three elephants spent some time sharing space, and things were quiet and soft. Rana doesn’t always seem completely at ease when Guillermina is demonstrating high energy, so it was lovely to see Rana so open to an interaction with a calmer Guille. And Guille, who has made great strides in “reading the room,” appeared to know that a gentler approach was the best way to go.

When we see the girls in situations like this one, we’re guessing they could be having a conversation in their own specific, elephant ways. Whether they “talked” or not, the moment was a great example of how choice impacts relationships and how everyone involved made the conscious decision to reconnect.

Photo of Guille by the fenceline

Address

PO Box 2426
Brentwood, TN
37024

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+16154359523

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