Why can’t we all just get along? That was Rodney King’s plea in the wake of the Los Angeles riots several years ago. Taking up the challenge are Tarra and Bella.<\/p>\n
Tarra is a former circus elephant spending her final years at a Tennessee elephant sanctuary. Female\u00a0elephants tend to pair off. In the\u00a0wild they help care for each other’s babies.\u00a0Elderly, widowed elephants continue the practice, just enjoying the company of a fellow golden-ager.<\/p>\n
Usually that buddy is another elderly female elephant beyond child-bearing age. But in this case, Bella is a dog. A stray that wandered into the sanctuary.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0while back\u00a0when\u00a0the dog\u00a0had to\u00a0be immobile after spinal surgery, Tarra stood vigil\u00a0in a\u00a0corner of the sanctuary until her keepers started\u00a0carrying Bella over to Tarra for a daily visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dogs and elephants generally don’t care for one another. Other stray dogs\u00a0given a home at the sanctuary steer clear of the big mammals. The elephants\u00a0usually regard approaching dogs with alarm.<\/p>\n
However, Tarra and Bella aren’t bound by any such social conventions.<\/p>\n