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LATEST NEWS FROM THE DAVID SHELDRICK TRUST
«« MAY 2004 »» «« AUGUST 2004 »» «« SEPTEMBER 2004 »» «« OCTOBER 2004 »» «« NOVEMBER 2004 »» «« DECEMBER 2004 »»
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The totally unexpected and mysterious sudden death of JIPE - 22nd December 2004 He was one of the most uncomplicated babies we had ever had to cope with, rescued from the mud of drying Lake Jipe on the 2nd October 2004, nearly three months ago, just a week or so old when found, trusting and loving from the start. From the day be came to the Nursery, he thrived, gained weight, played, romped and was a huge favourite with all the other Nursery orphans as well as the Keepers and the visitors. As a minute newborn calf he was filled with childish exuberance and personality, and possessed of a wisdom and comprehension beyond his tender age. He brought immense joy into the daily lives of all who knew him, saw him, or even just read about him. He was, quite simply, our pride and our joy and the favourite baby of all the Nursery Keepers.
Driving back from Tsavo on the morning of the 20th December, a chilling phone call reached us en route, which left us gutted. Jipe was seriously ill. He had been playful and happy the evening before; he had romped back home to his Nursery stable, taken his quota of milk with enthusiasm, was plump and in good condition, despite the usual teething problems that are usually accompanied by loose stools, but from which he had recovered; took his 9 p.m. feed with relish, and then refused all the other 3 hourly feeds. As the night progressed, he became weaker, and passed copious quantities of loose (but normal-looking) faeces for an infant artificially milk fed elephant baby, then began frothing at the mouth, and moments before death, had froth appearing at the end of the trunk – an indication of respiratory failure. Within 30 minutes of receiving that chilling phone call, our little Jipe, was dead. We simply could not believe it – and nor could Dr. Rottcher, our Vet, who had come first thing in the morning to administer an antibiotic injection, and planned on coming later to check on the patient.
So, what killed our little Jipe?
The post-mortem undertaken by the K.W.S. Veterinary pool suggested wrong
feeding – but Jipe had thrived and gained weight over a three month
period on the same formula that has successfully reared 62 other infant
elephants, including two from the day they were born! According to the
Post Mortem report, what killed him was something that caused intense
fermentation in the stomach, producing gases that blew up his intestines,
probably pressed on the lungs, and caused respiratory failure that took
him from us. Was it the Klebsiella that had taken two other Nursery
elephants, suddenly, and unexpectedly; was it a poison of some sort –
something he had inadvertently eaten, such as a noxious weed, or a toad;
or could it possibly be the result of a bite from a snake?
The Death of SEYIA - 29th November 2004 His Masai Mara Conservancy mother had advanced septicaemia, possibly as the result of a snake-bite, or so the Vet that treated her surmised. She was already very ill when her baby was born, possibly her underside too painful to even allow him to try and suckle so from the moment he entered the world, little Seyia was probably doomed. Possibly, the infected blood of his mother was a contributory factor to his death, another being the fact that we simply could not halt the diarrheoa he came with, despite trying everything in the book, even an infusion of blood plasma taken under anaesthesia from “Galana”.
The fact that his mother was dry was established when she was immobilized having her wounds treated, and the already emaciated and dehydrated condition of her baby another pointer. As soon as we saw him we knew he was a Colostrum deprived candidate and that his chances of survival were slim, the infusion of blood plasma being the last ditch stand. This has to be a last ditch initiative, because the anaesthetic poses a risk to the healthy donor elephant as well as the ailing patient that might die anyway. One could loose both.     Although the Vet managed to clean the mother’s wound and cut away necrotic flesh, she was up and on her feet again before time, so he could not administer the antibiotic and her baby was already too weak to follow and faced certain death. He was therefore accepted as an orphan and flown to the Nairobi Nursery rather than sanction a grissly end that could leave his mother more wounded should she try and save him. The one piece of good news to an otherwise tragic story is the fact that his mother has been seen since, and the abscess on her belly is much reduced, so we are hopeful that she will make a full recovery, and in the fullness of time be blessed with another healthy baby.
We named this tiny 4 day old calf, Seyia after the reeds that adorn the pastures of his birthplace. He was such a little fighter, and tried so hard to live, but from the start the odds were stacked against him. He simply never thrived and after three weeks of struggle, and mountains of medication, we knew that this was a battle destiny had decided was not going to be won. He passed away quietly and peacefully this morning at 8 a.m., a skeletal and tragic little figure, whose suffering had at last ended. Rest in peace little Seyia, a very brave little elephant who tried so hard to live.
LUALENI, yet another rescue - 29th November 2004 She was seen sleeping under the shade of a tree, all alone, in Hilton Hotels Taita Hills Sanctuary, with no other elephants nearby, and since she was only about 4 months old, she was obviously an orphan doomed to die with no chance of survival without her mother’s milk in a wild situation. The staff of the Sanctuary watched the calf for a full day as she tried to join other herds but was each time left behind as the herds moved off. The could see that she was already losing strength and would be lost to predators unless rescued, and was quite obviously an orphan.    Our Elephant Keepers and Mobile Veterinary Unit were mobilized, and little “Lualeni” was rescued in the evening of Saturday 27th November, without a struggle, simply happy to be offered rehydration and a bottle of milk. She was loaded into the back of the Trust’s pickup and taken to the Voi Stockades for the night, since it was too late to fly her to the Nursery that day. At the Stockades, immediately she was welcomed by the older orphans, ICHOLTA and NATUMI being her little mothers for the night, since EMILY, AITONG and Sweet Sally are no longer in the Stockades at night, but free to roam outside, usually turning up in the morning to join the other orphans, or meeting up with them out in the bush. (EMILY and AITONG, our two older “Matriarchs”, now want to be out and about at night, and since Sweet Sally is inseparable from AITONG, she is outside as well. We tried to encourage LOISABA to keep EMILY company, but she was having none of it!)
And so, little Lualeni spent the night cosseted by the older group, and was flown to the Nairobi Nursery the following day, arriving at lunch time. She was calm and friendly from the outset, happy to take milk from a bottle, and following the Keepers as she would her mother. However, she was very tired, and slept a lot that first day and night. The next morning, the eight Nursery elephants came in a group to meet her, and immediately SUNYEI had decided that this was going to be her special baby. GALANA has decided that little Nalitu is hers, and NASERIAN loves Jipe best, so all three little Nursery “mothers” now have a tiny calf of their very own, and all nine went off in a group, tiny “Lualeni” already fully in the fold.     
NALITU, another tiny orphan - 11/11/04 The Uaso Nyiro River (the Masai name for “Red River”) has as its sources tributaries that rise in the forests of both the Aberdare mountain range and Mount Kenya. This river is the very lifeblood of the arid lowlands of Northern Kenya, flowing swiftly through both tribal lands and privately owned Ranchlands during periods of rain, lazily in a series of large pools in the dry seasons, and spilling into the great Lorian Swamp in the far North to end its long journey. Occasionally during periods of drought, the river ceases to flow entirely, and then the elephants dig in its sands to expose sub-surface supplies for all life. One of the boundaries of the 60 acre Loisaba Ranch with the Samburu community land on the opposite bank is this Uaso Nyiro river.
In the evening of 11th November 2004, a herd of elephants felt compelled to cross from the Loisaba side of the river over to the community side, following an ancient migratory pattern undertaken by the Laikipia elephants over millennia. It so happened that the river was in high spate at the time, heavy rainstorms having fallen upstream, and it also, very fortunately, so happened that there were human witnesses to the event that was about to unfold watching from both banks of the river.
As the elephants took to the raging waters, a tiny 3 week old calf was swept from the herd and taken away by the churning floodwaters, as the distraught elephant family watched helplessly, trumpeting their distress. By the time they reached the opposite bank they were extremely agitated, milling around with outstretched ears and tails, but finally, desperate to reach their intended destination, they fled. This probably entailed having to “streak” long distances under cover of darkness through densely populated tribal lands which, of course, is a very dangerous undertaking that forced the Matriarch to accept that the baby had to be left to its fate in the interest of all the others. Luckily, however, the onlookers, saw that the calf had fetched up wedged in a rocky gorge with the churning red floodwaters flowing swiftly over and past her as darkness set in.
It was no easy task to extract the little elephant from such a difficult place in the dark where a missed foothold could also spell tragedy for a human, but after about two hours, finally they managed. The elephant baby was taken to Loisaba Ranch Headquarters where they knew exactly what to do, having been involved in several previous elephant rescues (Loisaba, Nyiro, Olmalo, Selengai, SUNYEI). Immediately, we were alerted that a plane would be needed the next day and meanwhile the little elephant was offered re-hydrants and wrapped snugly in blankets to keep her warm throughout the long night, comforted by an attendant who remained close, since the trauma of leaving an infant alone, who would never naturally ever be alone, is so severe that it can make the difference between living and dying.
The morning of 12th dawned, and the rescue plane was on its way by 8.30 a.m. entailing a flight of one and a half hours to the nearest airstrip on Loisaba Ranch, with Rob Carr-Hartley aboard to film the rescue for “Elephant Diaries” and all the usual rescue paraphanalia plus two of our Elephant Keepers. When the plane landed, the little elephant was waiting to be airlifted to our Elephant Nursery. But for abrasions on her chin, and in her mouth, plus the top of one ear damaged and bent from her ordeal against the rocks, she was in good physical shape. Obviously, however, she is a candidate for the dreaded pneumonia so will have to undergo a full anti-biotic course, plus a couple of long-actings. She was fed milk by our Keepers, which she took hungrily before being loaded into the plane, where immediately she lay down trustingly to sleep. Upon arrival in the Nursery, she was delighted to meet tiny l0 day old SEYIA, as her sores were attended to, and her first injection given. Later on, she received a very warm welcome from all the other Nursery inmates, especially SUNYEI and NASERIAN, who are over the moon now with three tiny tots.
We named her “Nalitu” – the Samburu name for a beautiful white lily that sprouts miraculously after heavy rain from the barren earth of semi desert lowlands, opening at dusk and turning huge patches of red earth pure white, filling the night air with a heady perfume as myriads of moths hover over the moonlit blossoms. Since this latest little elephant was rescued after the first heavy rainstorms of her Northern birthplace, and during the night, and because she is so beautiful, our Samburu Elephant Keepers selected this name. We feel it is perfectly appropriate for this, the 62nd infant elephant that the Trust has rescued since the first one named “Olmeg” was brought to us in 1986. l month old JIPE, 3 week old Nalitu and l week old SEYIA now make an enchanting miniature trio among the other six slightly older Nursery inmates.
Our latest arrival Seyia - 11/10/04 Another hectic Sunday 7th
November (it always happens on a Sunday!); Unfortunately, the immobilisation of the mother did not go entirely according to plan. The mother was put to sleep her wound was cleaned, the vet was also able to asertain that the mother was virtually without milk, her breasts having srivelled out of reach of the calf even, when unexpectedly she woke up before an antibiotic administered. With the elephant now on its feet, everyone had to scramble to safety, including the Vet. It was decided that SEYIA would have no chance of survival given his present dehyrated condition, and his mothers present condition. Obviously, if he was not to end up making a meal for the hyaenas, he had to be treated as an orphan, and little SEYIA came into our care, the 60th elephant baby the Trust has been able to save, assuming that he makes it. We estimate his age to be about 1 week, the worry being whether his mother had been able to produce the vital first colostrums milk to give him the antibodies he needs to cope with life.
His name “SEYIA” (pronounced Seya) was chosen by the Masai tribesmen that share his birth place, since this is both the Maa name of the area where he was found, as well as the name of a small wetland reed whose root tuber is carved into a much coveted lucky talisman worn by the Warriors.  
 
To date the mother has not been sighted again by the Mara Conservancy Rangers.
Jipe's Rescue on October 2, 2004 At the far Southern end of Tsavo West National Park is Lake Jipe, lying across the Kenyan/Tanzanian border, a beautiful lake that was once the unique jewel of Tsavo West, being the only natural lake in the vast 8,000 square mile arid scrubland that comprises Kenya's famous Tsavo National Park. Sadly, due to environmental degradation caused by an overload of Masai cattle both on the Tanzanian side of the lake boundary, as well as illegal incursion into Tsavo West itself by these tribesmen and their bovine hordes, (about which the authorities seem disinclined to take action), the lake is rapidly receding, and is set to dry up entirely within the next ten years unless corrective measures are taken both sides of the border. As its waters recede the caked mud shoreline poses a deadly threat to the wildlife that relies on the water of Lake Jipe to slake their thirst. It was the quicksand mud of Lake Jipe's shoreline that took a tiny 3 week old bull calf from his elephant mother and family.
He was spotted bogged deep in the mud by the Tsavo West Rangers that are stationed at the lake, where a few rustic Bandas stand to house visiting tourists. The footprints of the herd were evidence of their struggle to retrieve this little baby, but eventually when humans gathered, the elephants had to leave, abandoning the tiny infant of one of their number. The Rangers Stationed at the Lake spotted the tiny trunk of the trapped baby wiggling above the mud-line in the evening of 2nd October, and managed to pull him free, and wash him down. They immediately radioed Voi Headquarters who got in touch with our Head Keeper at the Voi Relocation Centre, Joseph Sauni, who instructed the Rangers to give the calf only water, and to keep it warm and safe for the night, since it was too late to organise an airlift that day.
We in Nairobi were alerted the
next morning (3rd October - again a Sunday!), but unusually hit a snag for
there was not one aircraft available at Wilson airport to undertake the
rescue, all being out due to the recent resurgence in tourism. The only
available plane belonged to a new Company called Safari Link who were not
prepared to undertake the rescue for less than full commercial rates, so
saving little Jipe turned out to be a very expensive exercise. However,
when dealing with the life of an elephant, and especially one that is
newborn,
Early the next morning, Joseph
Sauni and our Mobile Vet headed for Jipe, and the Safari Link plane left
at 1.30 p.m., with Robert aboard to film events for BBC’s “Elephant
Diaries”.
On the 28th September, whilst on the way to inspect the Aruba borehole with the Mobile Veterinary Unit, an alert came of an orphaned elephant from the Rangers at the Buchuma Entrance Gate to Tsavo East on the Mombasa road. We immediately drove there and discovered that the calf had fallen into a Pipeline Manhole comprised of two compartments, each about 4 ft x 31/2 ft and 4 ½ ft. deep, covered by a single concrete slab. The tanks could be accessed through an opening of about 2 sq. ft., one holding water, and the other just oozing water. Fortunately, the calf was trapped in the drier compartment, otherwise it would have drowned having been trapped head downwards. The calf was small - only about 4 – 6 months old, so Nairobi was alerted, and a rescue team consisting of Keepers and De-Snarers was mobilized from Voi.
The task of extracting the calf was tricky, since it was difficult to secure the rope around the girth, the calf having to be pulled into an upright position in order to fit through the opening. Finally, this was accomplished, and the head and forelegs came first. Once freed, it was seen that the baby was a bull, and having been secured with ropes, he was given milk, which he eagerly accepted, followed by an anti-biotic injection.
The baby was loaded onto a Pickup and taken to Buchuma Airfield to await the arrival of the Rescue Plane. A small plane brought the Nairobi Keepers, Rescue Tarpaulin etc., whilst the Grand Caravan flew direct from Lewa Downs to collect the calf. He was back at the Nairobi Nursery at about 6.30 p.m. Apart from massive bruising, and some swelling on his back, he was in good condition, though severely traumatised. He was housed in the stable next door to Madiba, and spent the night frantically trying to climb out, in between pushing the Keepers around, unable to settle or sleep. (Nor did Madiba, who was not only so distressed by the discomfort of his new neighbour that he couldn’t sleep a wink, but also suffered a bout of diarrheoa!)
We named the new baby "Bachuma" to reflect his origin, and although very bruised and sore, he is taking milk eagerly and in pretty good physical shape. Within just one night, by the next morning he was no longer aggressive towards the Keepers and sufficiently settled to be allowed out with the others. There was great excitement when the others were let out of their Night Quarters. Immediately they practiced their newly acquired trumpets by first chasing their baby warthog friends around, and then hurried to greet the newcomer, who looked decidedly bewildered to find himself suddenly in amongst others of his kind and size! Since he seemed so happy to be amongst them, and quiet enough to be trusted around humans, and having been a totally wild elephant just 12 hours earlier, amazingly he was out and about with the other Nursery babies the very next morning.
He spent the morning with them, doing little sorties out on his own into the bush searching for his lost mother, but returning to the group in between while. During the mudbath hour, he was returned to the stable, hoping that he would sleep, but again he immediately became extremely disturbed, trying to climb the walls, and threatening to fall over backwards, so we moved him to the Stockade next door to that occupied at night by Galana. There, able to see out, and in a much larger space, he was much calmer and after another antibiotic injection, plus anti-inflammatory and Vitamin B, and with the help of homeopathic Ignatia, Camomile and Rescue Remedy, when nightfall came, he finally fell asleep (and so did Madiba!). Both had a good night! Obviously, being enclosed in a stable has very bad connotations for little Bachuma, probably reminding him of being trapped in the Pipeline manhole, so he will spend his nights next door to Galana and already is very much the sixth member of our Nursery group. Following the death of two babies, who arrived so mutilated that we were unable to save them, it is good to have one whose prospects for survival are hopeful. Welcome little "Bachuma".
UPDATE: Very sadly, and quite unexpectedly Sagalla died on Tuesday the 5th of October. Just before she collapsed and died fluid dripped from her trunk indicating that she had succumbed to pneumonia. Because elephants are unable to cough and show any visible signs this goes undetected until too late, and by the time the fluid drips from the trunk the elephant is virtually drowning with saturated lungs. We had taken the precaution of administering a long acting antibiotic for Sagalla on the day she was rescued, but obviously this was not enough, and she should have had a second dose for three days ? however, all of this is easier said and done in retrospect, as she seemed to be making such good progress. She leaves behind a very sad group of orphans in Voi who had grown close and protective towards her. Rest in peace Sagalla. The Rescue of Orphan "Sagalla"
On the morning of 20th September, our Mobile Veterinary Unit was summonsed to treat an injured elephant, and upon arrival was informed of a lone calf, very emaciated and weak which had been seen wandering alone now for several days. Having dealt with the injured adult, he went to try and locate the calf and found it resting under shade. It was judged to be about two and a half years old, and was obviously an orphan losing the struggle for survival minus its mother during the dry season, and in need of help.
Having communicated with Voi,
the orphan’s lorry and everything needed for an elephant rescue was soon
on the way, linking up en route with our Voi De-Snaring Team which was
Upon arrival at the Voi Stockades, she was given more milk, and introduced to Aitong, who was overjoyed to welcome her and immediately won her confidence, in full charge as all the other orphans crowded around, desperate to feel her with outstretched trunks. During the night, the Keepers remained with her to dissuade the exuberant young bulls from trying to mount her in her weak condition.
The following morning, Mweiga
was chosen to keep the new baby company back at the Stockades, whilst the
other orphans left as usual for the bush. The new baby is named "Sagalla",
the name of one of two massifs that tower over the area, the other being
"Ndara", a name already given. Although very weak, the new baby
is feeding well, and has settled happily as the 28th member of
Emily’s group,
Demise of Ziwani - September 7, 2004 “If
only” is perhaps the saddest phrase in the English language, and if only
we had been able to rescue a yearling male elephant calf in time, found by
KWS Rangers all alone in and near the Ziwani swamp in Tsavo West National
Park, we might have been able to save him.
As soon as we
saw him, we knew that this was almost a replica of the case of the little
Amboseli Bull named “Ol Tukai”. He was too ill to feed, or
even take water, and too psychologically damaged to even try to live, in
excruciating pain. We did what we could to make him
comfortable,
Of course, tears flowed yet again as they always do when a baby elephant in our care gives up the ghost. It never does get any easier, but tears show compassion and the empathy that has been the key to the many successes we have pulled off. At such times we try to remind ourselves that over 50 others that would otherwise have died, now live and are happy and free. After tears, another page must be turned and attention focused on the living for there will be others that will need our help.
“How come you are so upset, when you hardly even know this calf?”, said a visitor who happened to witness our distress. The answer is that we see in each and every one an individual that mirrors others that we do know and love. We grieve for one that would have been just like them; for a life that should have spanned three score years and ten, and an individual every bit as special as the many others in our care.
Before he died, we gave him a name, as we do all that reach us alive. He was called “Ziwani” and he was a beautiful baby of about a year old, with gentle brown eyes fringed with amazingly long thick lashes. He would have made an extremely handsome bull, but the severity of his wounds, the grief of losing his elephant family, and the time that had already past before he was rescued, proved just too much and by the time he arrived in the Nursery, he was already beyond help.
NAPASHA'S LEG - August 17, 2004 The
morning of the 17th August, Napasha tried to mount Taita, to
which Taita objected,
By
the next day, Napasha was very lame, dragging the injured leg, so the
orphans remained near the Night Stockade awaiting the arrival of the Vet,
who turned up at noon on the 19th.
After
that Calendula rapidly healed the wound, and by the 21st he was
back at his old tricks again, targeting Taita, whom he obviously blamed
for the mishap! In the end, Mulika had to intervene and come
to Taita’s rescue, reprimanding Napasha and sending him away from Taita.
Napasha
is a forceful fellow, who, like all young bulls, likes to assert himself
by jumping on the others in an act of domination,
but Mulika, Nasalot and Yatta ensure that he is kept in line!
RESCUE OF GALANA - August 15, 2004.
A
plane was hurriedly scrambled in Nairobi aboard which were all the
necessities for an air rescue; three men, the milk, and the circular
carrying tarpaulin, headed for Voi,
Before
boarding the plane in Voi, she had taken the milk and rehydration that the
rescue plane had brought. Once up on her feet in one of the rhino
Stockades at the Nursery, previously occupied by Napasha, she immediately
began feeding on greens in between bouts of aggression directed at the
humans. However, it was milk she needed most, and this she took eagerly,
before charging again at the Keeper, who had to be careful to try and keep
from being pinned against the wall.
The
calf did not appear to be in a critical condition of emaciation, but had
obviously been without a mother for sometime. She was obviously thin, her
skin parched rather than supple and cheekbones prominent - always a
tell-tale indication of poor physical condition. We estimated the age at
about 14 months, since she had no tusks, but was a large calf – about
the size of Selengai and taller than the other four Nursery inmates. We
named her "Galana".
Meanwhile Daphne had called in Dieter Rottcher, our Veterinarian, who was surprised to find the invalid sufficiently strong to shove the Keeper around in between dreamingly suckling a hand. She was given a steroid and Vitamin B injection, having already had a long acting antibiotic jab in Voi.
On
the second morning, once again she had to be helped to her feet, and again
enjoyed the company of the other orphans for half an hour in the morning,
after the mudbath and in the evening. She
fed well, but was still "pushy" towards her Keepers,
although very relaxed and quiet when the other elephants were with her.
The third morning found her strong enough to get to her feet unaided, and
on the fourth morning she was out and about with all the others,
Galana promises to be a loving and caring little Mini Matriarch of our Nursery elephants, replacing the role that was held by Sunyei simply because she is older. She has a beautiful face, and exudes a magical aura already.
THE SAD STORY OF LITTLE OL TUKAI - 21.7.2004 - Updated August 6, 2004 The
Amboseli Elephants are famous. There can, however, be nothing courageous about destroying one’s heritage, inflicting untold cruelty and suffering on hapless victims, and especially an infant, damaging the tourist industry that is vital to the economy of the country and turning out in strength like a pack of hyaenas to eliminate an elephant whose lifespan should have spanned three score years and ten. This was the fate of the l8 month old boy calf of a famous Amboseli cow from the “J” family group named Joleen.
The Amboseli calves are not normally named until the age of four or five years, because their survival can never be assured until the fragile infant period is behind them. So this calf was known to the Researchers as the son of “Joleen”. He appeared several days ago, on his own, with three suppurating spear wounds in his left side, and with no sign of either his mother or another adult “J” cow, two adult elephants therefore mysteriously absent from their natal “J” family, which bodes an even greater tragedy than the death of one calf.
At around 11 a.m. on the 21st July, the dreaded phone call came through. A young calf suffering from spear wounds was in trouble, and could we help. The l8 month old baby bull calf had been seen fleeing from hyena who was circling him, and calling for others that would have undoubtedly have killed him had an old bull buffalo not emerged from the Pelican swamp to chase the hyaena off and save his life. Thereafter the young elephant sought shelter deep in the swamp, and that is where he was when the Rescue Plane landed, and our three elephant Keepers, (Julius, Patrick and Dismas) came to fetch him and bring him to the safety of the Trust’s Nairobi Elephant Nursery in Nairobi.
On
that day, it was the Keepers that proved their courage.
Without hesitation they waded in where angels fear to tread in order to
reach the calf.; shoulder deep into the Pelican Swamp which is also home
to hippos and crocs It was 40 minutes before they managed to
get him out, and once on dry land, he took to his heels, scattering herds
of grazing herbivores at the swamp edge. By this time our
Mobile Veterinary Unit (funded by the Austrian NGO Vier Pfoten) had
arrived and Dr. David Ndeerah managed to fire a dart into the fleeing
elephant, which brought him to a halt within 4 minutes. As the
drug took affect, and he was going down, the circular elephant rescue
tarpaulin was gently eased beneath him and once his wounds had been
cleaned, and a long-acting antibiotic administered, he was loaded into a
pickup truck and taken to the Chartered Caravan plane that was waiting at
the Airstrip to bring him to the Trust’s Nairobi Elephant Nursery.
The flight to Nairobi lasted 35 minutes, and by 6 p.m. the drugged elephant was safely inside the Stockade that had been prepared for him. He was immediately revived, and given a sedative before waking up, since we expected an elephant of his age to prove a handful, quite capable of crushing a man, and with no reason whatsoever to feel kindly towards humans. Whilst still drowsy he took some milk, but when the affects of the sedative wore off, he wanted to kill all in sight. However, the Keepers were with him throughout the night, talking gently to calm him, offering him tidbits by hand from the other side of the dividing logs, and tempting him with milk. The presence of the other orphans who were brought along to meet him visibly calmed him, and by the next morning he was sufficiently docile to take food and homeopathic remedies from an extended hand, though not yet sufficiently calm to clean out his very sceptic wounds again. He was thin, so had obviously been without his mother and milk for at least l0 days; had been subjected to untold stress, probably having to remain overnight in the swamp to evade the hyaenas. With a background like this, we feared the onset of the dreaded pneumonia, and sure enough, in the morning of 23rd, he was unable to get up, his legs rigid and the tip of his trunk damp. (Elephants cannot cough and by the time fluid comes from the trunk, they are usually too far gone to save).
Dieter
Rottcher, our Nairobi Veterinarian was summonsed, but by now the calf was
in a coma, his breathing very laboured and sporadic, fluid coming from
both the trunk and the mouth. Dieter feared that deep-seated
scepticaemia had also set in and we all knew deep in our hearts that there
was little hope of being able to save this baby. Nevertheless, we
gave it our best shot. His wounds were thoroughly cleaned out
again, a drip inserted into an ear-vein and more injectible antibiotic
plus stimulants administered, along with homeopathy, and cottonwool soaked
with Camphor and Eucalyptus placed near the tip of his trunk.
The late little “Ol Tukai”, it turns out, was not the calf of Joleen after all, according to the Amboseli Elephant Research Programme, since, mercifully, Joleen and the J family Matriarch, who have been missing for ten days or more, have turned up safe and sound and Joleen has her calf with her. It is unclear at the moment to which family in Amboseli little “Ol Tukai” belonged, but we are all very thankful that Joleen and the Matriarch were not also casualties of the brutal and senseless Masai spearing.
There
have been reports of recent poaching around Samburu - some seven or eight
elephants apparently killed. However, the theory held by Save the
Elephant personnel is that the calf could have been separated from its
mother and herd by being swept downstream by floodwaters, so the true
circumstances of it becoming an orphan must remain unclear. There
was just enough daylight time left on the 12th May to be able to bring the
calf back to the Nairobi Nursery that evening, so a plane was hurriedly
scrambled, this time a Caravan chartered from Boskovic Air Charters.
It carried three Keepers, Edwin, Dismis and Pius, all the usual rescue
paraphernalia - the circular tarpaulin with rope handles all round, milk
and rehydration in a crate of beer bottles, a KWS Vet named Isaac and
everything needed for sedation, plus a BBC Natural History Film crew
currently here to start the shooting of "Elephant Diaries", a
series modelled on the highly successful "Big Cat Diary".
This will entail l year of filming all our orphans in the 3 different
locations - the Nairobi Nursery plus the moving of six of the older
Nursery group to join Emily's herd in Voi, as well as the translocation of
12 of Emily's group to the newly established Northern Area Ithumba base,
where Imenti is now based, big events scheduled to take place in June.
When the rescue plane landed in Samburu, the calf had not yet been able to be captured and was still trailing wild herds, of which there were many in the area. Furthermore, another BBC Film crew had been filming the rejection of this orphan by the wild elephants, (something that puzzles us about the Samburu elephants since those of Tsavo seem bent on actually hijacking rather than rejecting calves, as is illustrated by the story of orphan "Irima"! ) Following frantic phone negotiations with the Charter Company, it was agreed that the plane and the Rescue Team could overnight in Samburu as best they could, and now that a Vet was in situ, an attempt would be made to capture the calf during the night. It was feared that were it left overnight, it may not survive the hyaenas.
The actual rescue was dramatic and traumatic. There was much confusion with vehicles and blazing headlamps trying to focus on the target, people rushing hither and thither, and excited elephants dashing about in the dark, with much trumpeting and screaming. A huge bull appeared out of the shadows in response to the distressed bellows of the calf as it was being overpowered and loaded into the back of the truck, which just managed to make a get-away in time. However, the KWS Vet and our team were, apparently, very professional and the sedated calf was spirited away to safety.
The
calf was a female, roughly 6 months of age, and still strong.
She was incarcerated in a small office overnight, with our three Keepers.
She took rehydration salts and milk, and was given Arnica for stress, but
it was a far from comfortable night for the Keepers, who were buffeted
around and got no sleep at all. They thought the calf had been
without a mother for about a week, since the cheekbone beneath the eye was
beginning to become prominent through loss of condition.
Those of us back at base likewise spent a restless night, wondering how things were going in far-away Samburu National Reserve. First thing in the morning, the news came that they had the calf, and the plane would be arriving at Wilson Airport in Nairobi at 8.15 a.m. Unsure about the actual size of the new arrival, both a Stockade, and a Stable were prepared, and at 9 a.m. the vehicle carrying the sedated calf drew in. Lying on the rescue tarpaulin she was already coming round, and we decided to put her in Tomboi's night stable, which is next door to that of Wendi. Traumatised and still "wild", it took two Keepers all their time to try and restrain the baby, who was trying to climb out and break out, but she took more milk and water, and gradually Keeper Julius and Stephen worked their magic. Having consulted our Samburu Keepers, it was decided that the calf be called "Naserian", which is a girl child's name in Samburu, meaning "the lucky one".
Elephant rescues are usually fraught, but this one could not have gone more smoothly, despite the remoteness of the location and communication restraints. Grateful thanks are due to Mr. Tom Silvester of Loisaba Conservation Trust, who, once again, undertook the long drive to fetch the calf and bring it to the nearest Airstrip on his Ranch, involving 2 hours of driving. Mike Seton, of East African Air Charters can always be relied upon to execute any elephant airlift at cost, most professionally and expertly, so little Ndomot (named for the place where he was found, meaning Where two river meet in Maa) arrived in the Nursery in very good shape. On arrival he downed copious quantities of Rehydration liquid and several bottles of milk, and was delighted to meet Sunyei, who will keep him company in the next door stable during the night. Who knows they probably know each other already and could well even originate from the same herd! Certainly, these two Northern elephants, along with Nyiro, who is now growing up in Tsavo, are elephants from a distant beleaguered population, and although there is underlying sadness in losing a mother and their natural elephant family, they are fortunate to be able to face a future together within a protected population in a National Park. They owe their lives to the compassion of the Samburu tribesmen that found them and gave them a second chance of life. The Trust will sponsor a trip for their rescuers so that they may come and see them, both here, and down in Tsavo, as we did for those that saved Ilingwezi
A
Newcomer: On the morning of the 30th October, a 2 month old baby
rhino came into our care, his mother apparently an extremely old and
emaciated Nairobi Park cow named Stella, whose teeth were worn completely
flat. Having come to the end of her life, she lay down to die
near the Ivory Burn site in Nairobi National Park, her calf desperately
trying to suckle her recumbent body. Hyaenas circled her and her baby all
night, the calf having caused a wound on her udder, which is probably what
attracted the attention of the hyaenas. He must have put up a spirited
struggle to spare him and his mother a savage mauling by the hyaenas.
K.W.S. euthenazed the dying mother when the pair were discovered in the morning, bringing the baby to us. Baby rhinos are amazingly resilient, and, unlike the elephants, always want to survive, and since this calf, though thin, was unscathed, his chances of survival are good. It is, however, necessary always to give a rhino that has been subjected to trauma and stress a course of injectable broad spectrum antibiotic to circumvent tick-borne diseases and pneumonia brought on by a lowered immune system through stress.
We have named this orphan Shida, the Swahili word for problem reflecting the problem both he and his mothered suffered during his short time on earth. He is feeding well, and although still grieving for his lost mother, has settled down, and should soon be able to begin the rounds of the dungpiles and urinals, in order to become accepted by both the rhino residents of the area as well as our other two orphaned rhinos, Magnum who will be 7 at the end of January 2004 and Makosa who was 4 years old on lst August 2003. Both these orphans are now unaccompanied by their Keepers, but return to what is, after all, Home Base on a daily basis, Magnum usually in the morning, and Mokasa in the evening, returning to their erstwhile Stockade where they feel most secure, and when any abrasions and wounds can be treated. Bull rhinos have to fight for territory and status, so when one takes on a rhino, one must expect the unexpected!
On
8th October 2003, at around 2 pm, a KWS Assistant Warden, two Rangers and
a driver arrived at the Elephant Night Stockades in Voi seeking
assistance. They reported a young elephant seen by Tour Drivers wondering
alone, and in an emaciated condition, near The Voi Safari Lodge.
Four of our Keepers joined the group and set off to the area.
After about 30 minutes they spotted the abandoned elephant and
cautiously walked towards it but the elephant kept its distance.
Its age was estimated to be two years old and it was seen to be a male.
At first they tried to steer the direction of the weak calf towards the elephant Stockades, in order to be able to get assistance to be able to overpower and capture it, but the elephant refused to head in that direction. The Keepers then made an attempt at capture, but even in its emaciated state, they were overpowered and the elephant forced its way through the electric fence surrounding the lodge compound. Once within the Staff Compound, the group again tried to surround the calf, but it escaped the dragnet. The group continued following, hoping to be able to seize any opportunity of being able to capture it, something that continued until 6 pm when additional Keepers were able to provide reinforcement, once our orphans had returned for the night. However, the little elephant kept on dodging its captors until 7.30 pm when the group managed to finally over power him. Having carefully secured the elephant with ropes, they walked it to the vehicle and with the help of numerous staff managed to load it onto the trailer.
It was 9 p.m. at night when the elephant was off loaded from the trailer at the Night Stockades and joined the other orphans inside. He was given re-hydration salts, and was named Irima, the name of the hill near to where he was found.
The presence of the other orphans instantly reassured and comforted this lonely calf, who was, indeed, fortunate not to have fallen victim to the pride of lions that habitually frequent the lodge waterhole. He became very calm and responded well to the welcoming gestures of all the other orphans. Before long they were all feeding together and he had happily integrated into the older elephant group. Obviously, he had lost his lactating mother, and would most certainly have died had help not arrived.
At around 11 a.m., we received a call from Tsavo East Headquarters that a young elephant had fallen into a septic tank at Salt Lick Lodge. It was reported that the mother of the calf was nowhere in sight and that the calf was of tender age.
We hurriedly packed our Pickup Truck with the rescue paraphernalia which included rehydration salts, water, milk, ropes etc., and accompanied by a group of Keepers, we headed to the place, a journey that took us l hour and 20 minutes. There we found the SaltLick Lodge personnel busy digging an exit hole through the side of the concrete tank.
Peeping from the top of the tank, we could just see the tip of a floating trunk and a small portion of the calves back. The rest of the body was submerged. The tank was about 20 ft long x 12 ft. wide and l0 ft. deep, with the water resting at 7 ft. This meant that the calf could not touch the bottom, nor reach the top, so in order to remain alive, it had to keep swimming with nothing to hold on to, unable to rest. (It had obviously been like this for many hours, likely to have fallen in sometime during the night).
It was difficult for us to judge the age of the calf, the only clue being the small size of the manhole through which it had fallen, implying that it must be small. Once the side of the concrete tank had been breached, we could reach the exhausted calf who was very fatigued but who was able to hold onto a hand or the rope we offered. This made our work easier, and after some difficulty, we were able to secure the rope around its girth, and with the help of the Lodge personnel, managed to haul it out. We could now see that the calf was about 9 months of age, and a bull, but once it was free, the lodge personnel took to their heels, expecting trouble! However, it was so weak that it put up little resistance, and we were easily able to restrain it. Within 3 minutes he readily accepted a bottle of milk and with the help of the lodge personnel, who returned once they could see that the calf was not aggressive, we managed to load him into the back of the pickup truck and drive the l0 kms. to the nearest Airfield, having alerted the Trust HQ in Nairobi National Park to the fact that an aircraft was needed to take the calf to the Nairobi Nursery.
The month of August saw two rescues, one tragic and one happy. On the 16th a yearling female calf abandoned at Satao Camp, who had unsuccessfully been trying to attach itself to visiting wild herds for two days, was rescued by our Tsavo Keepers and taken to the Elephant Stockades, there to be welcomed warmly by Emily and Aitong, and all the others when they returned in the evening. The calf took milk, but sadly died the following night, breathing heavily and obviously suffering from advanced pneumonia. It is interesting that elephants cannot cough, so other than a moist trunk, and laboured breathing, there is no prior warning that the animal is, in fact, nearing death from lung disorders. The next rescue was a 3 year old calf who became bogged in mud in Lake Jipe, Tsavo West, near the Tanzanian border. Again, after a Herculean effort, our Keepers managed to pull the calf free after it had been stuck for over 24 hours. It was very weak, having struggled for so long, but after a rest, gained strength and to everyone's delight later joined its herd, who were waiting close by.
The Maasai herdsman came across the elephant quite by accident because it was lying down, and at first he thought that it was dead. However, upon closer inspection he discovered that, in fact, the calf was still alive and appeared to be well. The herdsman then ran 2 kilometers to alert Joe, the Ranch Manager, about the presence of a lone calf, which is when his wife, Kerry, phoned us. Meanwhile, Joe and his team found the elephant still lying in the same place an hour later and they too thought that it must have died. However, when within 4 metres of the calf, it got up and moved deeper into the bush. It took about 15 minutes for the Ranch team to finally capture the elephant, and an hours drive to get it back to base. Already it was far too late to either drive it to Nairobi, or organize a plane rescue, so Kerry was asked to keep the elephant for the night, with someone with it at all times so that it was not alone; to cover it with a blanket, and to offer it rehydration salts or water only not milk. She confirmed that the facilities to do all this were in place, and that the Ranch Manager would be able to drive the elephant to Nairobi, which would save the Trust the expense of a plane charter, something for which we were extremely grateful. Once back at the Ranch base, the calf took some water and rehydration and was offered a selection of cut greens throughout the night by three Volunteers who opted to keep him company, offering him both re-hydration salts and greens. First thing in the morning, Joe embarked on the 7 hour grueling drive down to Nairobi with the elephant and attendants in the back of his vehicle, arriving at the Nursery at midday, 24 hours after the herdsmen had found him. Upon arrival he hungrily downed
a bottle of milk and promptly fell asleep in the stable next door to
little Sunyei, which had been made ready for him. Discussion ensued over a
name. The Ranch personnel had suggested Uaso Nyiro, but we already had
both a Uaso and a Nyiro. They then suggest Lominyes (the name of the
herdsman that found him) but we already had Lominyak whose name means the
Lucky One so in the end he was named Napasha. That evening, the Vet came
to administer the usual prophylactic antibiotic injection, (which the
elephant, still in a state of exhaustion barely noticed}. This will have
to be a daily occurrence for the next 3 days at least to safeguard against
diseases brought on by stress, both physical and psychological. By 5:15pm the resident Nursery inmates were on their way back for the introductions. The Keepers gently tried to wake Napasha, but he would only open his eyes. However, when the other elephants arrived, he instantly came to life, and immediately walked outside to join them, greeted with excitement and joy by all! Tomboi seems delighted to have another boy in the fold and tiny Sunyei is beside herself with joy and excitement. Olmalo and Wendi, at first, were a bit unsure about the arrival of a larger stranger and tended to be stand-offish, but by the next morning, and he was out with all the Nursery inmates, he was very much now part of the entire family! Although still obviously bewildered about the entire adventure, and obviously grieving for his real family, he is very obviously relieved and happy to be loved again, albeit by some strange two legged animals and 5 miniatures of his own species! And so, the story of Napasha begins and will be chronicled on our website to be shared with all our foster-parents and elephant lovers world-wide.
Monday 9th June and a signal arrives from the Kenya Wildlife Service alerting us to the fact that a tiny elephant had been rescued by Samburu tribesmen the previous day having been found stuck in a deep hole in a sand lugga. Currently it was being held at the Police Post in Ol Donyo Nyiro town. Already a day had past and the time in Nairobi is 1 p.m. It is important to establish (l) the exact location of this remote town and Police Post within the vastness of Laikipia District, (2) whether the calf is, in fact, still alive, before incurring the expense of mobilizing an Aircraft (3) that transport be sourced to bring the calf to the nearest airfield, having found out exactly where the nearest Airstrip is and (4) assuming that the calf is still in the land of the living, that it be given rehydration salts a.s.a.p. to counter death through dehydration and stress. Trying to contact the remote Police Post via a crackly and broken radio signal was obviously proving a near impossibility, and the minutes were ticking by with no further news. So, thank heavens for mobile phones and Tom Silvester, the extremely ele-friendly Manager of Loisaba Ranch who knew exactly where Ol Donyo Nyiro town was and who told us that the nearest airfield was his own at Loisaba. Very kindly he offered his help and leaping into his vehicle, headed for the Police Post in question, a journey that would take at least 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back, driving on rutted dirt roads. We requested that he phone us with news of the elephant as soon as he got there. Meanwhile, back in Nairobi, rehydration
fluids and milk was being prepared secured for the flight in the usual
compartmentalized Beer Crate. Out came the usual
rescue kit – the circular tarpaulin with handles attached all round, a
blanket to keep the baby warm, a mattress on which to lay the calf in
the plane, all the while praying that the calf was, indeed, small enough
to forego sedation for the flight. Finally news came from Tom Silvester. The calf was, indeed, still alive and quite strong, but obviously newborn, the umbilicus still attached. Now the plane could be given the green light to take off heading for Loisaba Airfield an hour away with very little time at their disposal in order to be back in Nairobi with its precious cargo in daylight! At the remote Police Post Tom Silvester was encountering the usual bureaucratic red tape because the authorities needed official clearance from Nairobi to release the calf. Radio relays to K.W.S. managed to solve this problem. The tribesmen who had rescued the calf, were reluctant to see it go, because already it was “their” elephant, following them trustingly and nuzzling them with its baby trunk. Tom assured them that it would be in safe hands, and soon he was on his way, heading back to Loisaba Airfield. There he had just a 15 minute wait before the plane was circling overhead, which had taken off from Nairobi the moment we had positive news. Meanwhile, Tom Silvester told us that the calf was a female, and not a bull, as we had previously been told. (A very common mistake). He suggested the name “Ntome”, the Samburu word an elephant calf. We mulled over this name, discussing it with our Samburu Keepers, because we already had “Ndume” from the Imenti Forest and “Natumi” from Nanyuki, as well as “Thoma” from Thomson’s Falls, names that were very like “Ntome”. We asked for the Samburu word for “Sand River” and were given “Sunyei” so we decided that the new baby should be called Sunyei. It was 6.45 p.m. in the evening before little “Sunyei” arrived in the Nairobi Nursery.
We have called this tiny female elephant "Selengai", which mean beautiful girl in Samburu. We estimate her age to be between l and 2 weeks old, for the hind side of the ears are still the telling petal pink, the umbilicus not entirely dry. As soon as the ears turn dark behind, (usually between 3 and 6 weeks), we will be able to have a more accurate assessment of her exact age, because elephant babies come in big and small parcels, just like humans and size is never a good indicator. Apparently, this baby was found just wandering alone on one of the ranch tracks, suggesting that the mother has either perished, or the calf became separated during a stampede.
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© Choices Wild Limited / David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, 2001 - 2005. |
another rescue alert following a phone call from the Mara Conservancy that
there was a young, and very sick elephant mother, with an enormous
festering abscess on her abdomen and a tiny newborn calf, who was in a
very weak condition. Both mother and baby
looked like set to die unless the mother received urgent Veterinary
intervention, and the baby, some milk. The prognosis for the mother was
never encouraging, since the abscess was huge and severely infected; the
prognosis for the baby even less so, since the mother was obviously too
ill to produce milk, and would be even less likely to be able to feed her
calf having had immobilizing drugs. However, the Mombasa Vet, Dr.
Kashmiri. who usually handles the Masai Mara cases, was on his way from
Mombasa to immobilize the mother and assess the seriousness of her wounds
when a decision would be made as to whether to euthenase her to spare her
further suffering, should her chances of recovery prove unlikely. We were
asked to stand by should the calf be a candidate for rescue.
time
is of the essence, and cost considerations do not come into it, for an
elephant life is precious. For us little “Jipe” represents a milestone
for the Trust’s Orphans Project, for he is the 60th infant African
Elephant to have been saved. That after all, in our book at least, is
something that cannot be quantified in monitory terms, support of wildlife
being our very “raison d’etre”!
Tiny
“Jipe”, having had the prophylactic antibiotic injection, and a feed
of milk, walked trustingly alongside his new family and was loaded into
the aircraft, arriving at the Nairobi Nursery at 6 p.m. Back at the
Nursery, he downed some more milk, and was placed in the stable next door
to that of Sunyei. When the Nursery elephants returned from the bush for
the night, Sunyei was over the moon to discover a new baby next door. So
excited was she that we had to allow her time in with him, when she
greeted him lovingly and with great gentleness, fondling him all over with
her trunk. During his first night in the Nursery next door to Sunyei,
little Jipe fed well but slept little, not surprisingly still
psychologically unsettled by such an unexpected twist in his short life,
and today, 4th October, he is out and about with all the others, sheltered
from the sun by an umbrella, with ears that are already sun damaged
plastered in sunblock. Of course, we anticipate the usual tummy problems
since he would undoubtedly have swallowed copious quantities of mud, and
we will have to weather the usual teething problems, but being the 60th
baby, we have done it all before, although one can never be complacent due
to the fragility of an elephant infant. Welcome to the fold, little Jipe!
Taita
Ranch is situated 60 Kms. from Voi opposite the Buchuma Entrance to the
Park on the Nairobi – Mombasa road. This, and neighbouring ranches, form
a vital corridor between Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks - a
traditional migration route for the Tsavo population of elephants. Once a
cattle ranch, eco-tourism activities now dominate, so the Ranch harbours a
variety of the area’s indigenous faunal species.
working
in the area. Everyone arrived at the Ranch airfield at 4 p.m. and with
numbers supplemented by Scouts from Rukinga and Taita Ranch, they worked
out the rescue strategy. Leaving the vehicles and some personnel at the
airfield, others walked about l00 meters to where the calf was resting,
and forming a semi-circle behind it, gradually prompted it to move towards
the airfield where the rest of the team and the vehicle was waiting. Once
there, the calf was easily subdued, being too weak to offer much
resistance. It was a female, and once secured with ropes, the Vet was able
to administer the usual prophylactic broad spectrum antibiotic injection
whilst the calf was given dehydrates and milk, which she took eagerly.
Before being loaded onto the waiting lorry, she was doused with water to
cool her, since it was extremely hot.
a
great favourite with all the young females who are would-be Matriarchs.
She is a very lucky little elephant, indeed, who would most certainly have
died within the next l0 days had she not been found and saved. We salute
our Vet, Dr. David Ndeereh, for his professionalism; our indomitable
De-Snaring Post Graduate Team Leader, Isaac Maina, who has been
responsible for rescuing more orphaned elephants than anyone else in the
world (Tsavo, Irima, Burra, Mvita, Ndara, Galana as well as Maungu and
Ziwani, and Taita , two others that didn’t make it, to name just a few),
Joseph Sauni, the Head Keeper at the Voi Relocation Centre, dearly loved
by all the orphans, whose empathy and tender touch is an inspiration, plus
all others who had a hand in saving the life of yet another needy little
orphan. Welcome to the fold little "Sagalla"and welcome back
home in the land that belongs, not to humans, but to elephants!
It
always happens on a Sunday! During the morning of Sunday 15th
August, a phone call from our De-Snaring Team Leader in Voi alerted us to
the fact that a young female elephant had been rescued near the Galana
river, about 10 miles from the Sala Gate on the Eastern boundary of Tsavo
National Park. She was approximately 1 year old, and had been found all
alone in a patch of thick salt-bush bordering the river by some visitors,
who happened to spot a small foot poking out. There were no other
elephants nearby, but there was a pride of 5 lions not far away. The calf
had made a tiny den within the salt bush, where she was hiding. The
visitors alerted the KWS personnel at Sala Gate, who got in touch with our
Mobile Veterinary Unit, which was soon on the scene, with some of our
De-Snaring personnel. 
The
calf was captured, and transported to our Elephant Night Stockades at Voi.
She was weak and therefore easily restrained without the need for sedation
for the l hour journey, squeezed into the back of the Mobile Veterinary
Unit vehicle, to the Elephant Stockades in Voi, where the baby received a
rapturous welcome from the other orphans. They surrounded her and
comforted her, whilst our De-Snaring Team Leader made the phone call to
Nairobi, advising us that the elephant was fragile and weak and should be
air-lifted to the Nairobi Nursery, being still milk dependent and orphaned
at a difficult age.
to
where the larger Caravan aircraft (on another charter) would be diverted
on its return journey to meet them and bring the elephant back to Nairobi.
The new orphan arrived in the Nursery at 3 p.m., again without having to
be sedated for the flight but instead manually restrained with legs tied.
So
far there is no news of what became of her mother and her elephant family
but one thing we learnt later from a tour Operator who had also seen her
earlier than the visitors, and that was that a pride of 15 lions were also
close by, so she is very lucky to still be alive and could not have lasted
much longer! She owes her life to the kind visitors that found her, and
took the trouble to report her plight to the authorities.
Having
spent the first night in the Nursery, the next morning, she was too weak
to stand and had to be heaved onto her feet by the Keepers, who supported
her in a standing position whilst Daphne shovelled into her mouth several
handfuls of Glucolin to try and generate some strength. Eagerly she
accepted this, and then downed another 3 litres of milk whilst the other
Nursery elephants crowded around her to show her that she was not alone,
and to give her the will to live. This had the usual magical result, and
immediately her eyes took on an expression of interest whilst her strength
visibly improved. All the Nursery inmates greeted her gently, touching her
with their trunks, eager to inspect and smell her as she was, them – all
except Sunyei, 
who
seemed a little "put out" by the presence of a larger female and
chose to ignore her presence, standing with her behind pointing towards
the newcomer! Madiba and Naserian were the most affectionate, whilst
Ndomot had just one thought in his head, and that was to have his trunk
glued to his Keeper!
happily in amongst our little herd of Nursery inmates as they went out
into the bush. However, we did not risk taking her to the mudbath for fear
that the sight of so many visitors might unsettle her again, after what
for her, had been a fairly traumatic rescue. It was, however, advisable to
avoid sedation on a rescue where the calf is obviously emaciated and weak
for baby elephants are essentially very fragile, even when in good health.
12th
May 2004, in the late afternoon, we received a message from Save the
Elephants in Samburu National Reserve alerting us to the fact that what
was obviously an orphaned elephant calf had been seen trailing the wild
herds, and suffering continuous rejection by them. The calf
was estimated to be between 4 and 6 months old and, we were told, was in
the process of being captured. It had been seen trying to
cross the Uaso Nyiro river along with wild elephants, but was constantly
pushed under water by one herd member, which is very un-elephant-like
behaviour towards a needy baby!
On
the 26th November, 2003, we welcomed another little 6 week old elephant
into the Nursery from the same remote corner of Kenya that yielded Sunyei,
orphaned under the same circumstances, having fallen into a well dug by
tribesmen in a dry Northern sand lugga in a very arid part of the world.
He comes from Ol Donyo Nyiro district, so he is a tough little dry country
elephant, about 6 weeks old, and in good condition. Great credit goes to
his rescuers, three Samburu tribesmen, obviously brothers, named Barin
Leruso, Ltaisan Leruso and Kibatoi Leruso. They did everything right,
under difficult circumstances; gently pulled the baby elephant out of the
deep hold without breaking his tail, trunk or delicate ears, gave him only
water, and no cows milk (which is death to an elephant), and via a
crackling radio at a remote Police Post, managed to contacted KWS in
Nairobi. Credit is also due to Cpl John Muchuri of KWS, who oversaw the
rescue most proficiently, not forgetting the Officer on duty at KWS
Nairobi, who, on a Public Holiday, was there to field the call and relay
the details to us.
On
the 14th of July 2003 at around 13:30pm, we were alerted by Mpala Ranch
that a Maasai herdsman had come across a young elephant estimated to be
over 6 months of age.
Elephant
rescues are always fraught for time is of the essence, and every minute
of every hour can mean the difference between life and death.
Communications are difficult when a tiny elephant is found miles from
anywhere – this time having fallen into a hole in a Sand River not far
from a remote Northern Kenyan town called Ol Donyo Nyiro in Laikipia
District.
On
the 21st March 2003, we welcomed another tiny orphaned elephant into the
Nursery, again from Sosian Ranch in Laikipia, the same privately owned
Ranch that yielded the two year old orphan called "Sosian".
The latest tiny newcomer from Sosian Ranch was, as usual, airlifted to
Nairobi by East African Air Charters, attended by a K.W.S. Veterinarian
and two of our Staff members. Because she was so young with no fear of
humans, she was able to avoid the risk of having to be sedated for the
journey.