Gender
Male
Rescued date
27 June 2012
Rescue location
Unknown
Date of birth (estimate)
6 June 2012
Reason orphaned
Man-made cause for separation
Age at rescue
3 weeks old (approx)
Date of passing
11 July 2012
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.
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