Several years ago, this bull appeared at our Ithumba Unit and calmly walked into a stockade. Such behaviour is highly unusual for an adult wild elephant — it was clear he was asking for help — so Benjamin and the team went to investigate. Sure enough, they found he had been struck in the ankle by an arrow.

Once he saw that his message had been received, the bull walked back out of the stockade and positioned himself beneath a nearby tree, where he quietly waited. We mobilised the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit, who treated his injury. Joint wounds can have lethal implications, so this intervention very likely saved his life.

Ever since, this bull has returned to visit us from time to time, just to say hello and show his appreciation for those who answered his call for help.

It’s important to remember that this bull is entirely wild. And yet, despite being wounded by human hands, he understood that we are a benevolent presence in the landscape — a place where he could find sanctuary in his hour of need.

This is just one tale among a library’s worth of extraordinary stories that remind us how intuitive and intelligent elephants are.