Tara, formerly known as Fanny, is an Asian elephant who lived 35 years chained by her legs at the seedy Slater Park Zoo in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Pawtuckians got the roadside zoo shut down, and Fanny came to Black Beauty Ranch with a new name as part of her new life.
When Tara arrived at Black Beauty, our resident African elephant, Conga, came out of the elephant barn to see what all the fuss was about. Neither Conga nor Tara had seen another elephant in the last several decades, and the two species -- African and Asian elephants -- traditionally do not get along. But as they got closer, Conga lifted her trunk to extend a greeting. The two elephants entwined their trunks together, and Tara had at long last found freedom and a friend.
Since Tara's arrival, we now have a third elephant on the scene at Black Beauty Ranch -- a baby African elephant named Babe who had lived nine years in a circus, forced to perform tricks with two broken legs and a mishapen head. Expert veterinarians are helping Babe's legs to recovery, and the three girls are all getting along fine!