On Elephant Sanctuary, Unlikely Friends

CBS Evening News: Steve Hartman Looks At What Difference A Couple Of Tons Makes - Or Doesn't - For Two Old Friends

(CBS)  When elephants retire, many head for the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn. They arrive one by one, but they tend to live out their lives two-by-two.

"Every elephant that comes here searches out someone that she then spends most all of her time with," says sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley.

It's like having a best girlfriend, Buckley says - "Somebody they can relate to, they have something in common with."

Debbie has Ronnie. Misty can't live without Dulary.

Those are pachyderm-pachyderm pairs. But perhaps the closest friends of all are Tarra and Bella.

That would be Tarra the 8,700 pound Asian elephant. And Bella. The dog.

"This is her friend," Buckley says, scratching Bella's tummy. "Her friend just happens to be a dog and not an elephant."

"Bella knows she's not an elephant. Tarra knows she's not a dog," Buckley adds. "But that's not a problem for them."

Bella is one of more than a dozen stray dogs that have found a home at the sanctuary. Most want nothing to do with the elephants and vice versa. But not this odd couple.

"When it's time to eat they both eat together. They drink together. They sleep together. They play together," Buckley says.

Tarra and Bella have been close for years -- but no one really knew how close they were until recently. A few months ago Bella suffered a spinal cord injury. She couldn't move her legs, couldn't even wag her tail. For three weeks the dog lay motionless up in the sanctuary office.

And for three weeks the elephant held vigil: 2,700 acres to roam free, and Tarra just stood in the corner, beside a gate, right outside that sanctuary office.

"She just stood outside the balcony - just stood there and waited," says Buckley. "She was concerned about her friend."

Then one day, sanctuary co-founder Scott Blais carried Bella onto the balcony so she and Tarra could at least see each other.

"Bella's tail started wagging. And we had no choice but bring Bella down to see Tarra," Blais says.

They visited like that every day until Tarra could walk. Today, their love -- and trust -- is stronger than ever. Bella even lets Tarra pet her tummy - with the bottom of her enormous foot.

They harbor no fears, no secrets, no prejudices. Just two living creatures who somehow managed to look past their immense differences.

Take good look at this couple, America. Take a good look world. If they can do it - what's our excuse?

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Click here to learn more about The Elephant Sanctuary.

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[wilemut]

I would love to see more stories like this! It is unbelievable how much the world is still in the dark ages when it comes to humane treatment of these beautiful and intelligent creatures.

[dgwd1]

What a wonderful story. It shows that animals can and do have feelings. I am to lead a diversity seminar next week and I will definately incorporate this story in the training. We humans have so much to learn from animals! Thank you for showing this segment.
DGWD1

[wilemut]

I would love to see more stories like this! It is unbelievable how much the world is still in the dark ages when it comes to humane treatment of these beautiful and intelligent creatures.

[erasmus606]

That is so sweet.

[catkay]

please continue to feature more stories like these. tarra and bella are an inspiration!!!

[missut2]

A great heart-warming story! Thanks, CBS...We can certainly use more stories like this one.

[whitewolf60]

That is such a neat-o story! Too bad with the way things are in the world now we can''t have MORE of them!

[nikkicatt1]

Thank you for such a wonderful story!!! I really wish that there were more stories like this on the news. There is too much gloom and doom these days. Thank you, again.

[whitewolf60]

"Take a good look, America. Take a good look, world. If THEY can do it - what''s OUR excuse?"

TOO WELL SAID

[wrtsr]

"Take a good look, America. Take a good look, world. If THEY can do it - what''''s OUR excuse?"

That''s easy: religion. Don''t believe it? Look at any major, intractable conflict in the world today; religion is at its heart.

[numbers4girl]

The reason for the spinal cord injury has no bearing on this story whatsoever. The cynics among us perhaps like to pick apart a happy ending and look for the dark side for their own amusement. Perhaps to show that they are the most clever of us all. But, anyone that has been raised on a farm or worked around any type of animal knows that they can get hurt just like any living being. It is an unfortunate, but normal happening that has to be dealt with.

That being said, do not let it take away from the inspiring story that this is or minimize the importance the sanctuary. I, like most of you what to hear more stories like this.

[bigfanx]

Thank you CBS for the showcase of a most unusual friendship. Tarra and Bella''s story is only one of many heart-warming stories that The Elephant Sanctuary shares.

Make an effort to present the other stories soon.
-- DJ--

[erasmus606]

That''s actually a weird looking elephant.

Cute, but weird.

[murraylove]

it made me,wonderful story

[murraylove]

made me cry,great story

[annestivacti]

morphndol8, are you drunk again or just plain insane? Your two posts are totally irrelevant. This was an absolutely wonderful piece, and it should be celebrated, not cheapened by your mindless ramblings.

I love this story! I have shared the link with many of my friends. Great job!

[danisu]

For the full story of Tarra and Bella, visit

http://www.elephants.com/pdf/Trunklines_Fall_08.pdf.

[j12053]

Thank you for running the piece. Human society could learn a lot from the interaction of elephants among their own as well as others outside their own species.They share in raising their young, take turns at water holes (even when very thirsty) and have managed to coexist quite nicely for countless years until messed with by "civilization".

[j12053]

Thank you for running the piece. Human society could learn a lot from the interaction of elephants among their own as well as others outside their own species.They share in raising their young, take turns at water holes (even when very thirsty) and have managed to coexist quite nicely for countless years until messed with by "civilization".

[klamsauce]

AND WE BELIEVE HUMANS ARE THE MOST INTELLIGENT LIFE FORM.....NOT!!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS MOVING PIECE.

[nicholsgang]

The thing that really ruins such a beautiful story is when you get people who have to ruin it...Take Morphndol8 for instance.....What planet did you fall off of? Some of us would surely love to pitch in and pay to ship you back !! You could even defect to another country....we''ll even help! You really don''t even know what you were commenting on do you or were you doing the the Morph....ine? It''s people like you we should kick out of our country and let others willing to serve and protect us in. Americans worry about terrorists when they should more worried about people like yourself lurking about the U.S.A.

[death1961]

This is a beautiful story made more compelling by the video. The world can learn alot from this. It''s all about love or at least it should/could be.

[razor254]

I saw this story on TV as I was getting dressed for church this morning. It really impressed me, and has stuck with me all day. So tonite I looked you up and replayed it. It needs to be replayed over and over again all this week! Maybe there is really hope for us. . .

[silverseas1]

Fabulous story. Thanks so much for showing us these two loving friends and for making us aware of the Elephant Sanctuary. More stories like this please....

[kmmulligan]

Thank you for this wonderful story about the friendship between Tarra and Bella. The Elephant Sanctuary is to be commended for its work to provide peace and comfort to these creatures who have often suffered much at the hands of humans. Please continue to shine a light on the good work being done by the various humane organizations, such as Elephant Sanctuary.

[runningralph]

Steve Hartman asks at the end of the story if two different species can get along why can''t humans? Good question. Here is the answer. The dog and the elephant are not in competition. In the real world life is competitive. Lions, fish, humans, cockroaches, snakes, trees and flowers. All have to struggle to earn a living. The fittest survive. Competition is the engine of evolution. In the Garden of Eden where the lion lays down with the lamb there will be no evolution.

[positivemiss]

A great story. We need to hear about more positive stuff. NEWS does not all have to be tragic and negative. As for Morphndol8..people like that thrive on negativity. Since there wasn''t any in the story...they had to add it. They obviously have personal issues that require them to "Need" attention. They thrive on attention positive or negative. So realistically ignoring them will shut them up. As they will not be getting any gratification by annoying you or making you angry.

[ydjordan]

Wonderful story!! I''ve put it on our website. Please have more stories like these

[armydog2]

terrific story, it seems the animal kingdom has it all over the human race.

[claudine38]

This is the most wonderful story I have seen in a long time. I needed that with all the conflicts going on in the world which find me devastated. Thank you for the beautiful story of Tara and Bella. It reminds me that indeed animals are incredible and often better than humans and yet we so often mistreat and exploit them; for ex. elephants in circuses, chimpanzees in lab experiments and factory farm animals in nightmarish conditions.

[bigfanx]

Don''t miss the photo essay "PACHYDERM PARADISE".... the link is directly below the video. Beautiful photos ... enjoy!
Many thanks to The Elephant Sanctuary for sharing this wonderful story with all of us... and to Mr. Hartman for the presentation. :-)

[d-elaware]

ONE OF THE REASONS TARRA AND BELLA GET ALONG SO WELL IS THAT THEY''RE TREATED SO LOVINGLY AND CAREFULLY BY THE PEOPLE AT THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY. WITHOUT SCOTT BLAIS AND CAROL BUCKLEY FOUNDING THAT REMARKABLE AND PEACEFUL PLACE, ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS WOULD BE IN HARMS WAY DAILY.
SO HOORAY FOR TARRA AND BELLA AND HOORAY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEIR FRIENDSHIP POSSIBLE!!!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR.

[piercetheval]

...The story of Ganesha and his friend, a little mouse, comes to mind here...touching story!

[KarenSantaFe]

TO CBS NEWS MANAGEMENT: It would be great if you could post the video on YouTube. It is up there already, but very poor resolution and soundtrack. Thanks for this lovely story!

[grs9769]

GREAT story! Thank you for something so positive with such an important message. We need more stories like this if we ever expect the world to change. We only get more negativity when we always focus on the negative stories.

[grs9769]

GREAT story! Thank you for something so positive with such an important message. We need more stories like this if we ever expect the world to change. We only get more negativity when we always focus on the negative stories.

[sassalin]

Brought tears to my eyes. Very touching story and what a great lesson.....

[msay3]

How wonderful it is to go on a website and read all of the posts only to discover that everyone posting is of the same mind....This is a great story, and thanks to the wonderful people at the elephant sanctuary, this story stands to reassure us meager humans that a lesson can be learned by watching, listening, and caring for the animal world.

[rose19772]

This story is especially important for people who don''t believe that animals have "real" feelings. This brought a tear to my eye and made me smile for something so sweet and pure.

[enjesamc]

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way its animals are treated" - Mahatma Gandhi
The work of Scott Blais and Carol Buckley gives us all a new appreciation for why we are all here on this earth. One of the very good things happening in the State of TN. Thank you Steve Hartman and CBS for this heart warming story.

[kansas1946]

I can not believe it. Not one nasty comment in the repsonses I have read. Amazing. Maybe that is the secret to our "common ground." Animals. If we can all agree, regardless of our political beliefs, that this is a wonderful story, then maybe there is hope for the depolarization of American. Lovely story.

[jennmarikp]

How adorable! I enjoyed reading this story!! They could teach us something!

[tomanyt]

That is so sweet. How come humans can''t be more like Bella and Tarra???

[littlesyd1]

i spent some time at the elephant sanctuary in ''99 and it is a wonderful place where they do great work. Tarra''s friend then was a dog named sammy.

[rsmik]

My heart has been warmed. Really.

[prepgrad]

I''ve felt for many years that CBS Sunday Morning is the best show on television, and this story is a good example why. Simply extraordinary; I''ve shared the video with all my friends.

[murraylove]

made me cry,wonderful story,i have forward this story to all my friends