Now living wild, though he continues to visit us regularly
Current age
10 years old
Gender
Male
Rescued date
23 November 2016
Rescue location
Samburu
Date of birth (estimate)
24 October 2014
Reason orphaned
Human-Wildlife Conflict
Age at rescue
2 years old (approx)
Current location
Living Wild
Our rescue team was dispatched to the closest airstrip, accompanied by KWS Vet Dr Fred Olianga. Once on the ground, a Samburu Trust vehicle and scouts rushed them to the scene where the decision was made to tranquilize the calf and anesthetize the mother.
In a situation such as this there is always the fear that whilst succumbing to the effects of the anesthetic, the mother might fall on her calf, but the team managed to prevent this as she staggered and began to fall. They then managed to capture and restrain the calf whilst Dr. Olianga attended to the recumbent mother. She had a horrendous compound fracture on her leg, with a part of the shattered femur visible through the skin. There were also bullet wounds to her head as well, so it was now very evident that the kindest approach would be to euthanize the mother elephant and rescue the calf. Such decisions and rescues always weigh heavily on all involved, but this was a particularly painful and tragic case. However, all attention now focused on the calf, who had bravely remained by the mother’s side throughout the ordeal, despite the situation having attracted a large crowd of curious community members. The calf was then captured, prepared for travel, and loaded into the Samburu Trust’s landcruiser to be driven to the airfield where the rescue plane waited. His beautiful mother was put out of her misery.
Our rescue team was dispatched to the closest airstrip, accompanied by KWS Vet Dr Fred Olianga. Once on the ground, a Samburu Trust vehicle and scouts rushed them to the scene where the decision was made to tranquilize the calf and anesthetize the mother.
View diary updates from across all our orphan units as written by the Keepers
Our extended family continues to grow! Not two weeks after ex-orphan Galana introduced us to her new daughter — Ithumba’s first wild-born baby of 2024 — Loijuk arrived with her own bundle of joy in tow.
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