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 She is an Imenti Forest Elephant, and arrived only days
old, perhaps just a week, with a moist umbilical cord, soft black hair
on her skin and a tiny short trunk. Being so young, she
really has no comprehension yet, other than the fact she needs food and
someone bigger to follow and be with.
She was found in a swamp near the all but gone Imenti Forest, all
alone, on the morning of 18th September 2002, the rest of the herd
having fled, no doubt due to human disturbance.
Since she is too young to understand the loss of her elephant mother, she faces the future without the psychological trauma that troubles calves orphaned older. She is beautiful, and can be assured of a love of tender loving care from her adopted human family, and foster-parents worldwide who care deeply about all elephants. Hold thumbs up for little "Wendi" from the Imenti Forest in Meru. © The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust |
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Wendi's Diary
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We have
named her "Wendi", which in the Meru tribal dialect means
"Hope" and we have named her thus, hoping that CITES makes the
decision to hold the ban on the sale of Ivory, which will bring
"hope" for the survival of elephants "hope"
that the Imenti elephants will one day have a safe corridor to the
forests of Mount Kenya and meet up with lost friends from whom they are
now isolated by human settlement, and "hope" that the K.W.S.
Warden of Meru, who was responsible for such a very efficient rescue,
has a career full of "hope" within the Kenya Wildlife Service
and above all, "hope" that little "HOPE" will
survive.
Rearing a newborn elephant always presents a challenge, which we feel
confident to meet, as long as there are no serious physical defects. One ear is bent down the middle, like a folded piece of parchment, and
we think the little elephant must have been lying like this in the womb. We feel that she may even be a twin restricted in womb space for the ear
to have suffered such pronounced damage. We hope that the
blood supply to the damaged ear will be sufficient for nature to work
miracles and mend it. Little "Wendi" is miniscule,
and is having powdered Colostrum in her first bottles of milk, just in
case she is younger than we think and has not had the benefit of her
mother's first milk containing all the vital antibodies she will need
for survival in a harsh world. She has been given an
antibiotic injection to prevent pneumonia (since she was found in a
swamp).
