Lorian
Sadly Lorian passed away on July 11th, 2012. He shall forever remain in our hearts
About Lorian
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Gender
Male
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Rescued date
27 June 2012
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Rescue location
Unknown
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Date of birth (estimate)
6 June 2012
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Reason orphaned
Man-made cause for separation
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Age at rescue
3 weeks old (approx)
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Date of passing
11 July 2012
Lorian's rescue
During the evening of the 24th June 2012, the Security Guards of Simba Farm, Rumuruti, the agricultural area East of the Laikipia escarpment (North West of Mt. Kenya) spotted a tiny elephant calf who had been left behind when his herd had been driven off the farm early that morning. Hoping that the elephant family might come and retrieve him during the night, they let him be, but he happened to spot a young African child passing by, and ran towards him. Terrified, the young boy took to his heals screaming, the baby elephant in hot pursuit simply compounding his fear.
Hearing the boy’s screams villagers rushed to the rescue, so the little elephant attached itself to them instead, relieved to have company, since newborn elephants are usually part of a very adoring family and under normal conditions are never left unattended. The villagers sought the advice of the Area Councillor, who in turn alerted the local Chief. He then got in touch with a Kenya Wildlife Service patrol who happened to be in the Lorian area at the time, but by now it was 6 p.m., too late for a rescue that day. The Rangers held the baby overnight in their Staff Quarters, feeding him only water to keep him hydrated, aware that baby elephants are totally intolerant of cows’ milk.
The following morning (25th June 2012) the Area Warden called us at The David Sheldrick Trust’s Elephant Nursery. A rescue plane was sourced and chartered from East African Air Charters at Wilson Airport, and equipped with all the necessary paraphernalia, two Keepers were soon airborne, bound for the Simba Farm bush airstrip where they landed at 11.45 a.m. Meanwhile, the little elephant was being escorted to the airstrip, accompanied by hordes of interested spectators, turning up at 12.20 p.m. He was fed formula milk and electrolytes by the Rescue Team and before being loaded into the plane, the Keepers addressed the assembled onlookers thanking them for not harming the little elephant, who was extremely trusting and too young to know fear. He had been orphaned as a result of what is known as Problem Animal Control, his elephant family having been driven out of what is now human settlement but which in earlier times had obviously been part of their natural range.
The tiny elephant arrived at the Nursery at 2.30 p.m. He was in good condition, sturdy and strong, the hind-side of his ears still petal pink, but the umbilicus already dry so he is estimated to be 3 weeks old, since the hind-side of the ears turn dark at 6 weeks. He has been named Lorian and he brings the number in our Nairobi Elephant Nursery to 21 joining tiny Barsilinga, Balguda and Kithaka as baby bull Nursery miniatures, part of a new and adoring Orphaned Elephant family.
Hearing the boy’s screams villagers rushed to the rescue, so the little elephant attached itself to them instead, relieved to have company, since newborn elephants are usually part of a very adoring family and under normal conditions are never left unattended. The villagers sought the advice of the Area Councillor, who in turn alerted the local Chief. He then got in touch with a Kenya Wildlife Service patrol who happened to be in the Lorian area at the time, but by now it was 6 p.m., too late for a rescue that day. The Rangers held the baby overnight in their Staff Quarters, feeding him only water to keep him hydrated, aware that baby elephants are totally intolerant of cows’ milk.
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The death of Lorian
When undertaking the rearing of infant elephant babies, one must expect heartbreaks aplenty and we have certainly had our fair share of those over the years
