Nelion

Sadly Nelion passed away on August 24th, 2020. He shall forever remain in our hearts

About Nelion

  • Gender

    Male

  • Rescued date

    7 August 2013

  • Rescue location

    Mount Kenya Region, Mount Kenya NP

  • Date of birth (estimate)

    26 July 2011

  • Reason orphaned

    Unknown

  • Age at rescue

    2 years old (approx)

  • Date of passing

    24 August 2020

Nelion's rescue

A lone elephant calf was first spotted by the Kenya Wildlife Service within the Mount Kenya National Park during one of their daily patrols on Friday 2nd August. The calf was reported that day to KWS Field Veterinary Officer Dr Mutinda as well as to the SWT Nairobi HQ. The KWS rangers lost sight of the calf during the day so any chance of a rescue was postponed.

Over the following days the KWS continued to search the area where the calf was last seen without luck until on the morning of the Wednesday 7th August when the young elephant was finally located. The KWS made plans to immediately capture the calf before it had the chance to disappear again. Due to the fairly large size of the elephant and its small tusks the KWS Warden and vet made the decision to dart the calf in order to capture it and transport it to the nearest airstrip at Nanyuki to await the SWT.

During this time the Warden informed the SWT team in Nairobi at around 4pm that an aircraft and rescue team needed to be sent to Nanyuki urgently to collect and care for the calf. As daylight was fading the Nairobi elephant keepers rushed to the domestic airstrip and were airborne by 5pm. After a 40minute flight up to the Mount Kenya region the rescue team arrived and quickly prepared the calf, who was waiting with the KWS at the airstrip, for his return flight to Nairobi.

The SWT team and the new orphan were en-route to Nairobi by 6pm, landing just in time at sunset. An SWT vehicle was awaiting their arrival in order to transfer the calf to the Nursery. Dodging Nairobi commuter traffic and short-cutting through Nairobi National Park, the tired and stressed calf arrived at the Nursery just after 8pm.

On closer inspection the keepers confirmed that this malnourished and dehydrated little elephant had indeed been on his own for quite some days, unable to get the nourishment he needs to survive from vegetation alone, he is gaunt and thin. At approximately 2 years old he is still very aggressive to the keepers despite his weakness, chasing them around the stockade where he has been placed next to the Nursery’s newest arrival, Vuria.

Thankfully the following morning this beautiful mountain elephant, covered in long black hairs typical of highland elephant herds, took milk from the keepers surrounded by the encouragement of the rest of the orphan family. All at the Sheldrick Trust hope this new arrival continues to feed well and regain strength in order to get him through the trauma he experienced.

Over the following days the KWS continued to search the area where the calf was last seen without luck until on the morning of the Wednesday 7th August when the young elephant was finally located. The KWS made plans to immediately capture the calf before it had the chance to disappear again. Due to the fairly large size of the elephant and its small tusks the KWS Warden and vet made the decision to dart the calf in order to capture it and transport it to the nearest airstrip at Nanyuki to await the SWT.

Nelion's Archival Updates

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Keepers Diaries

View diary updates from across all our orphan units as written by the Keepers

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The sad death of Nelion

It is with a heavy heart that we must share with you the very sad news that Nelion, whose journey back to the wild had been realised, has passed away.

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Nelion's Archival Photos

Access the most recent photos featuring Nelion

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