Image copyright AP Image caption Asian elephants Guida and Maia arrived at the sanctuary earlier this week

The first elephant sanctuary in Latin America has opened in Brazil to provide a home for an estimated 50 circus animals from across the region.

Guida and Maia, both over 40 years old, are the first residents.

They will be provided with veterinary care and live out their lives in forested areas with pastures.

A US-based group bought the land to give the elephants a refuge as zoos in the region close and more laws prohibit the use of animals in circuses.

Image copyright AP Image caption Guida spent years languishing on a Brazilian farm

Image copyright AP Image caption Maia was also a circus elephant

Image copyright AP Image caption This is the first elephant sanctuary in Latin America

Image copyright AP Image caption Cameras will allow visitors and scientists to observe the animals

Both elephants are thought to have come from Thailand, where they were illegally taken to be used in circus, Brazil's G1 website reports (in Portuguese).

The Global Sanctuary for Elephants bought the land of 2,800 acres, for $1m (£820,000) to be paid over five years.

The area is located in the western state of Mato Grosso.

The first phase of the project will host up to six animals. The sanctuary will not be open for visitors.</s>(CNN) Brazil has opened up the first sanctuary in Latin America for elephants previously in captivity, an idyllic retreat that could eventually house as many as 50 of the giant animals.

Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, in the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, was founded by the US-based non-profit organization Global Sanctuary for Elephants, and it already has its first two residents.

Maia and Guida, two elephants that spent the past four decades in captivity, arrived at the sanctuary Tuesday. Posts on the group's Facebook page show that the girls have started to adapt not only to their newfound freedom, but also to each other.

"They are completely thriving," said Scott Blais, the chief executive for Global Sanctuary for Elephants.

Maia and Guida spent the past 40 years with a circus in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. For the past half-decade they were attached to 15-foot chains on a farm owned by the lawyer for the circus.

Blais said they had no proper fencing or living environment.

Guida was allowed off the chains every once in a while, but that wasn't the case for Maia, Blais said.

"There was a hot wire, and one electric strand between the two, and that was because they wanted the elephants to be able to touch the trunks a little bit, but Maia was always aggressive to Guida," he said.

Since relocating to the new sanctuary, Blais said there have been no signs of aggression between the two elephants.

"Their very first contact they had with each other without a barrier, Guida was a little defensive, a little protective, and after that it was like they have been together, side by side, best buds for 50 years," he said.

"There is a huge need for elephants that are just waiting in line," Blais said.

In Brazil there is a lot of support for protecting the future of former circus elephants, the group says, and great public awareness of the issues surrounding the animals.

Maia and Guida's marathon journey to their new home started Sunday in Paraguacu, at the farm where they were chained. They were transported to the sanctuary in individual containers. After two days and almost 1,000 miles, Maia walked free, and Guida was released shortly after.

The sanctuary's next resident could be Ramba, an elephant currently living in Chile. There are a few other elephants also in Brazil that are on the list for the sanctuary. The next resident could arrive as soon as early next year.

The land where the sanctuary was built is a former cattle ranch. The area has 2,800 acres and was purchased by the non-profit to house as many as 50 elephants from at-risk conditions in zoos and circuses across Latin America.

The organization relies on private donations and crowdfunding for their efforts. Because of the lack of funding, Maia and Guida have access to only one acre at the moment, but as soon as more funding comes in, Blais said, they expect to continue to develop the area and open up more space for the elephants to roam around.

"It's an exceptionally unique piece of property," he said.

Blais adds the elephants will have plenty of room and ways to be entertained in their new home.

"Springs, creeks, forest, pastures ... just an ideal protective location within an ideal climatic region," he said.</s>Farmers detained a group of forest personnel at Tholpetty on the Kerala-Karnataka border under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) on Saturday morning, seeking protection from recurring wildlife attack.

The death of a youth allegedly in an elephant attack on Friday night while he was returning home at Aranappara, near Tholpetty, had provoked the mob.

Villagers say that five persons have been killed in wildlife attacks in the district so far this year, with the death of the youth being the latest. According to data provided by the Wayanad Action Committee to prevent wildlife attack, as many as 79 persons were killed and 350 injured in wildlife attacks in 30 years in Thirunelly grama panchayat alone.

When a team of forest officers, including warden of the sanctuary P. Dhaneshkumar and North Wayanad forest divisional officer Narendranath Veluri, visited the site after the incident, the villagers detained them for six hours demanding protection from wildlife menace. They were also demanded a fair compensation and a job to the relatives of the deceased. Some villagers blockaded the Madikkeri-Mananthavadi highway too.

Later, the officers and Thirunelly grama panchayat president A. Mayadevi held a discussion with local leaders and assured them that Rs.9 lakh would be provided to relatives and a temporary job to the wife of the deceased at the Tholpetty ecotourism centre, apart from a solatium of Rs.30,000 for funeral rites. They would also recommend the government to provide a permanent job to a member of the family.
A wildlife sanctuary for rescued elephants opens in Brazil.