We discuss the most frustrating aspect of Ramba’s rescue- Why did it take so long? We dive into details about permits, including those required internationally by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) but also within Brazil (IBAMA). There is no classification for sanctuaries in Brazil, and no recent elephant imports, which means standards and protocols need to be created. Blood tests on Ramba show she is suffering from the early stages of...

 🎃 Join our Pachyderm Pumpkin Party fundraiser here. This week, we talk about Ramba’s first days at her temporary home after the circus. Scott recalls how Ramba settled into her new home very quickly, enjoying the space, the trees, and the mud. Caregivers assigned to Ramba needed training since they had never worked with an elephant or with protected contact training, which was necessary for the sanitary requirements to import to the U.S.  We also talk about Parque Safari, a small roadside...

Ramba (Part 2) - Today we dive straight into resolving the cliffhanger we left you with last time. Scott admits that talking about Ramba’s rescue from the circus in our last episode really brought up old memories about how difficult the entire operation really was. Under the circumstances, Ramba was fairly relaxed. The rescue team and the circus people were each waiting in their corners for the judge’s ruling to arrive. And when it does, it is a challenge: the colonel of the military police...

Ramba (Part 1) - Known as the “Last circus elephant in Chile”, Ramba was confiscated from a circus due to neglect and abuse. Yet, with nowhere to go, she remains in the custody of the circus. Scott & Kat recall how her rescue really must be credited to the small animal welfare organization, Ecopolis, who had been campaigning for Ramba’s release for years before Scott & Kat arrived on the scene to assist with her actual relocation. Ramba’s move from the circus to her temporary home...

Episode 18 Rana (Part 3) - In our third and final episode on Rana, Scott & Kat share how they truly noticed the lessons Rana had learned about friendship when the sanctuary’s fourth elephant, Ramba, arrived.  Eager not to make the same mistakes as with Guida & Maia, we talk about how Rana kept her exuberance to herself, not wanting to touch Ramba and possibly annoy or scare her. Yet Ramba was looking for guidance to know how to behave from the elephants already at the sanctuary....

Rana (Part 2) - One of our listeners sent us the question, “How do elephants feel about the humans they interact with?” In this episode, we talk about facilitating what an elephant needs on an emotional and physical level without crossing the boundaries of forcing ourselves onto them. Scott and Kat recall how Maia and Guida didn’t ask for much affection from their humans - possibly because of their strong relationship - while Rana is an elephant who does ask for physical contact before her...

Episode 16 Rana (Part 1) - Meet Rana (pronounced Hana), the sanctuary’s third elephant and also a former circus elephant. She arrived at the sanctuary on Dec 21, 2018. Scott recalls how they heard rumours of a solitary elephant living on the grounds of a hotel on the east coast of Brazil. Luckily, the new hotel owner wanted a better life for Rana and so, after a short period of getting used to the transport crate, Scott, Rana, and their team set off on the long journey home.  Solitary for...

Guida & Maia (Part 4) - In this week’s podcast we start off by saying “THANK YOU” to all of our wonderful listeners & introduce the independent Facebook support group ‘Friends of Global Sanctuary for Elephants’. We talk about the connection of physical and emotional healing of Guida & Maia. The sanctuary’s diverse topography of hills, creeks, and grasslands doesn’t only stimulate muscle building, but also reconnects long unused and shut down senses of sight, smell, and hearing,...

Episode 14 Guida & Maia Part III - Kat & Scott share more stories on Guida & Maia’s development from who they were upon arrival at ESB (Elephant Sanctuary Brazil) and who they really are. Scott recalls how today Maia, after her nightly explorations, falls into her morning-zombie mode, often napping in the treatment chute, though it was initially a place that caused shaking from fear and anxiety. Listening and understanding what Maia was communicating was vital to building up...

Episode 13 Guida & Maia (Part 2) - Kat & Scott share their memories of Guida & Maia’s first steps off the transport crates after a safe and smooth journey to the sanctuary. Due to their difficult relationship, Guida & Maia spent their first night in separate stalls in the elephant care center. Yet it seemed that the magic of sanctuary had already enveloped the two elephants, as Kat recalls her and Scott sleeping on hay bales next to the care center and being woken up...

Episode 12 Guida & Maia (Part 1) - Female Asian elephants Guida & Maia, ex-circus elephants, were the first who got to experience the magic of sanctuary in Brazil. Confiscated from the circus but with no suitable place to go, they had spent 5 years chained up on the prosecutor’s farm. Scott & Kat share their first encounters with the two elephants and how, through observation, they began to understand each individual’s character. Big, bossy Maia, dubbed the “bad elephant” by the...

Episode 11 Developing the property for the first elephants - The magnificent property is secured, but the pressure is still on with the sanctuary’s first elephants Guida & Maia waiting for their happy end. Learn how Scott & Kat explored the property on foot as there was no money for a 4-wheeler or car - with the main focus being to find the ideal area for building the female Asian habitat. Despite years of experience in building elephant barns, Scott shares how things are done...

Episode 10 Meet the Team - Rebecca Rodriguez -  In today’s podcast we have Rebecca Rodriguez, Development Director for GSE, as our special guest. As a non-profit organization, GSE’s work relies on private donations and grants, and Rebecca talks about how this work to make the magic of sanctuary possible is very close to her heart. She also shares her insights and impressions of her first ever visit to the sanctuary. Find out about a toad who loved to live in her boots and two unexpected late...

Episode 9 (Minisode) Trunks & Treasures: an online auction and virtual event to support elephants In our first minisode, Scott and Kat share exciting news about their upcoming online auction and live Facebook event. Save these dates: Online auction: June 5 at 11:00am EST to June 12 at 7 pm EST 2023 (Monday-Monday) Live Facebook event: Saturday, June 10, 7-8 pm EST (with giveaways) With this big fundraising event, Global Sanctuary for Elephants aims to raise much-needed funds to...

Episode 8 Sanctuary Sweet Sanctuary - Despite much support from the local mayor, Tocantins is just not the right area of Brazil for the sanctuary. Kat and Scott share how they decided to move to the Mato Grosso region and how - after looking at many properties - they always ended up back at the current sanctuary property. With the universe obviously nudging them to this magnificent property and Ramba still waiting for her happy end, the property price of one million USD seemed an...

In this episode, we take a closer look at elephant communication and explore the intricacies that Kat and Scott have observed during the elephants' journeys toward physical and mental healing. We delve into the concept of face value trauma and examine why sometimes elephants resort to stereotypic behaviors, such as head bobbing and swaying, as a coping mechanism for the trauma they have experienced in circuses or zoos. Although recovery from these overt behaviors can be used to measure an...

Moving to a new country brings many challenges including cultural ones. Scott & Kat share some more funny and entertaining stories and anecdotes on their new home. We look at more properties including ‘Hundred cows’, ‘Fruit tree confusion’, ‘Beautiful birds’ and the shocking ‘Cow graveyard’. Scott’s romantic declaration of love to Kat shows how their strong relationship took them through these challenging times when things were not developing in a linear way, and land deal after land deal...

It’s time to pack our suitcases as we move from America to Brazil on June 24, 2014. In this episode Scott & Kat talk about how only 24 hours after arriving in Brazil, the money they were promised to start the sanctuary wouldn’t be available after all - nor would the car. Most importantly, the deal for sanctuary land fell through. But giving up was not an option as Ramba, the elephant confiscated by the authorities in Chile, was counting on them. The episode transcript can be found...

Episode 4 Keeping an open perspective: Kat & Scott explain how they shifted the focus from captive elephants not only in South America, but globally, thus leading to the founding of GSE. While replicating TES (which Scott co-founded) might have seemed an obvious choice, other options like a halfway home in South America with the final destination in Cambodia were also considered before settling on Brazil, as 35 of the 50 captive elephants were located here. Listen to two funny and...

In this episode, we talk more about the ways that Scott & Kat observed the elephants at TES (The Elephant Sanctuary in TN) on a daily basis and how, as they showed the elephants they were paying attention to what was being communicated, the elephants began to open up and reveal more of themselves over time. We touch on the complexities of listening, seeing, and understanding the nuances of elephant communication (a topic for several episodes). While it is now more common to call for...

In our 2nd episode, Scott & Kat talk about the face value of elephant trauma and how it wasn’t until they saw the magnitude of recovery possible at sanctuary that they realized how deep the impact of harmful captivity had been on each elephant’s soul. We talk about their brief elephant-free months after leaving the sanctuary in Tennessee, in 2011, until meeting the last circus elephant in Chile, Ramba, made them realize that they were destined to dedicate their lives toward elephant...

From working at a safari park as a teenager to needing a change from the routine work in the veterinary field, Scott and Kat’s careers in captive elephant welfare couldn’t have started much differently. Find out how the dark side of elephant care opened Scott Blais’s eyes to their immense suffering and how the violent death of Tyke, a circus elephant, led to him co-founding his first sanctuary, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee (TES). Learn how Kat Blais left New York to work with elephants...

Coming February 2023: Global Sanctuary for Elephants’ brand new podcast, Global Rumbling. Join our host, Nadia Mari, as she talks to Scott & Kat Blais, co-founders of GSE about how their careers in captive elephant welfare began, why they founded South America’s first elephant sanctuary, and their plans for the future. Subscribe today join our herd and gain a deeper understanding of who elephants are. Who we are: Global Sanctuary for Elephants exists to create vast, safe spaces for...