NEW BEDFORD — Ruth and Emily are the odd couple: two old ladies who have been living together for 38 years at the Buttonwood Park Zoo.
It’s good that they have each other. Asian elephants are an endangered species.
Emily, 59, came to the zoo in 1968 as a 4-year-old. She eventually outgrew her facility and was shipped to Baton Rouge for over a year before returning, due to popular demand. Singly housed for many years, she is a loner.
Ruth, 65, is the second-oldest elephant in a US-accredited zoo. Once part of the herd at the old Benson’s Wild Animal Farm, she endured years of abuse by a private owner who rented her out at parties and parades. Known as “the hard-luck elephant,” she was rescued in 1986 after she was found chained in an abandoned tractor trailer truck in a parking lot in Danvers.
She arrived in New Bedford with a partially paralyzed trunk. She has developed osteoarthritis and her foot has chronic inflammation. The staff say they treat her daily with multiple regimens, including cold laser therapy.
The pachyderms’ relationship is complicated, Keith Lovett, director of Buttonwood Park Zoo acknowledges.
“They act more like roommates than companions,” he says.
Ruth and Emily are among a dwindling number of elephants who live at a zoo. Activists have pushed for elephants to be kept in large sanctuaries, where they may roam freely.
An activist group sued Buttonwood in federal court, alleging that the zoo was harming and harassing Emily and Ruth, in violation of the Endangered Species Act. They had hoped to get them transferred to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. A judge ruled for the zoo in 2019, court records show.
Another lawsuit filed by an activist in 2021 is pending in federal court in Boston.
Buttonwood says when Ruth and Emily pass, they will not be replaced.
The zoo was given a “Hall of Shame Award” by the group In Defense of Animals in 2016 “for refusing to retire two tragically incompatible Asian elephants, Ruth and Emily to sanctuary.”
Assistant zoo director and elephant manager Shara Rapoza says the zoo is in compliance with USDA regulations and accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.
“There’s never been, what some people have [said is] incompatibility. They are very different. Ruth is a thinker. She very much thinks about things a lot. She contemplates. Emily is — I hesitate to use a stereotype because it’s not really politically correct — but she’s a ditsy blonde. She does things impulsively.”
Emily likes to toss a sheet up in the air and catch it on her head. Ruth likes to use Emily as a back scratcher. Emily likes the sounds of drums. Ruth loves cooked vegetables.
Rapoza has known them both since 1986 when she was just 16. Now she considers herself and lead keeper Kay Santos, a 22-year zoo veteran, part of their herd.
“I love them. They love me,” she says.
When they see Rapoza, Emily squeaks, Ruth purrs. Sometimes they embrace her with their trunks and she rubs their tongue, which they love.
In their early days together, they used to go for walks in the park outside the zoo, swimming in a pond and knocking down trees in the woods.
“It was not unusual to see us walking along Rockdale Avenue and people walking their dogs and going, ‘Hey, Em. Hey, Ruth.’ ‘’
In those days zoo staff routinely carried bull-hooks to direct them with taps.
“I would lean it up against a tree while watching the elephant’s graze. Emily would pick it up and scratch her back with it,” says Rapoza.
“It was not ever a thing that instilled fear in them,”
But occupational safety rules ended their outdoor field trips.
Today, the elephant exhibit is confined to an almost half-acre habitat. The barn has sand piled on the floors to provide cushioning. Ruth sleeps on a hill of sand to ease the stress on her joints. Emily snores.
“Emily is very stubborn. If she doesn’t want to do something, she is not going to do it. Ruth is very emotional in the sense that the worst thing you can do to Ruth is take your attention away from her.”
The barn is left open in good weather. Emily likes to swim in the elephant pool at night by herself. Ruth is given choices on how she spends her days. These days, she spends more time napping.
In early May, a group of students from Mass College of Art, brought elephant toys they designed and constructed to keep Emily and Ruth active.
Freshman Chai Turner and her classmates built the elephant screw, a big rolling grassy log with alfalfa cubes stuffed inside.
Both elephants were interested, came over, investigated it, and quickly found the treats.
“Today is one of the most incredible days of my life,” says Turner. “To go and watch elephants interact with it over there was such a relief.”
The zoo says it has brought in nationwide experts to evaluate their treatment of the elephants. Dr. Susan Mikota, co-founder and executive director of Elephant Care International said she has visited Buttonwood several times.
“Great staff and they take very good care of their elephants,” she said in an email.
Rapoza says she worries that the aging Ruth wouldn’t survive a trip to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, if she were to have to leave Buttonwood. And if she did, she wouldn’t get the individual attention needed for her special diet.
The average life expectancy of Asian elephants is about 45 years in captivity.
“They’re thriving,” says Rapoza. “They’re two of the oldest in the country. That, to me, speaks volumes.”
Stan Grossfeld can be reached at stanley.grossfeld@globe.com.