Six Impossible Things

The Elephant Sanctuary, Hohenwald, Tennessee

Jenny and Shirley were both at the same circus when Jenny was a calf and Shirley was in her 20s. They lived one winter together then were separated 22 years ago. It is very rare for elephants to display this kind of emotion in captivity, and it’s probably the first time such a thing has been documented on film.

Carol Buckley, Sanctuary Director, describes their reunion.

“Jenny came into the barn for the first time since Shirley’s arrival at around 7:00 p.m. There was an immediate urgency in Jenny’s behavior. She wanted to get close to Shirley who was divided by two stalls. Once Shirley was allowed into the adjacent stall the interaction between her and Jenny became quite intense. Jenny wanted to get into the stall with Shirley desperately.She became agitated, banging on the gate and trying to climb through and over. After several minutes of touching and exploring each other, Shirley started to ROAR and I mean ROAR — Jenny joined in immediately. The interaction was dramatic, to say the least, with both elephants trying to climb in with each other and frantically touching each other through the bars. I have never experienced anything even close to this depth of emotion.”