Wild Elephant Brings Her Newborn To Meet The People Who Saved Her

[catbyte]

Such an incredible moment ❤️️

BY LILY FEINN

To Loijuk the elephant, nothing is more important than family — especially now that she is starting one of her own.

In 2006, the orphaned elephant was found all alone at only 5 months old, and was rescued by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) in Kenya. She was hand-raised by SWT until she was old enough to return to the wild.

Years have passed, but Loijuk still has a close bond with her human family. She returns to the grounds of the sanctuary every month to visit. But in September, Loijuk surprised her former caretakers with a newborn elephant calf in tow.



It was clear the proud elephant mom couldn’t wait to show off her baby. The calf, who has since been named Lili, was only hours old — likely born only the night before.

Loijuk has never forgotten the kindness of those who helped her. She even invited Benjamin Kyalo, the head keeper, to have a special moment with her newborn calf.



“Benjamin was able to get close to Lili (who nestled into his legs), stroke her delicate newborn skin and breathe into her trunk, thereby letting her know who he was via his scent,” Rob Brandford, executive director of SWT, told The Dodo. “Elephants have an incredible memory and sense of smell and our keepers will often breathe into the orphans’ trunks so they can recognize who they are.”

You can watch a video of Loijuk and Lili's touching visit here:

&feature=youtu.be

Lili was quite wobbly on her feet during the meeting, but over the course of the week, Kyalo watched as she got stronger and stronger.

"Loijuk has stayed close to the area around the unit, allowing our keepers to watch over her and check how she’s getting on," Brandford said. "Considering September is the peak of the dry season in Tsavo, not the most favorable of conditions for a new baby, we are delighted that Loijuk has returned close to home so that we can help supplement her diet when she visits."



In the wild, calves are raised with the help of female relatives within the herd. Loijuk has played nanny to other babies before giving birth to Lili, and now her calf has nannies of her very own — two other wild orphans named Naserian and Ithumbah.

Lili will remain with her mom's herd in the wild for life, and if she is ever in need, she now knows there is a safe place she can always return to.



Lili is the 31st calf born to female orphaned elephants raised by SWT now living wild, and she is a beacon of hope for threatened elephant populations everywhere.

“Moments like these are momentous,” Brandford said. “In saving one orphaned elephant’s life, we are not only seeing that orphan thrive but start a family.”

"Lili has a brighter future ahead of her than many elephants," Brandford added, "and we look forward to watching this little girl grow up in the wild.”

https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/elephant-introduces-newborn-calf-to-her-rescuers

[IndyOp]

1. I always wonder how likely it is that orphans raised by humans will be able to

create new kinship groups - this is a very nice story.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust gradually introduces the orphans to wild herds in a protected setting.

The elephants make the transition to live with the wild herds at their own choosing and many come back to visit the humans that raised them. You can learn more here: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

[Baitball Blogger]

4. +1

[kimmylavin]

7. They're wonderful!

For my birthday this year, I asked for my in-laws to "adopt" an elephant through them.

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I adopted an elephant for my daughter for her birthday this year. She was delighted.

[Botany]

2. Elephants are smart, they think, they talk to each other, the live as families, they mourn their ...

..... dead, and they can communicate through their feet and over many miles via their rumblings.
And to think Don Jr. shot one and walked around with its tail.

[Scarsdale]

14. Idiot got his intelligence

(lack of) from his low life daddy. Ivanka claims she got her moral compass from daddy. Obviously, it had stopped working years ago. On a much more pleasant note, the elephants are wonderful creatures, loving and smart. The newborn is adorable.

[lunatica]

5. Aww catbyte!

[grantcart]

6. Taking the kid to see the grandparents, pricelss

Throwing dust is their way of applyin sun screen


Thanks for a great post

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Lili said "it's nap time!".

What a shame humans can't get along like elephants......

Just thinking what hypocrisy it is for Rethugs to use them as their moniker......

Thanks for sharing this precious story, Catbyte......

[wallyworld2]

9. Thank you

[JuJuYoshida]

10. that brought me to tears, faith in humanity restored

[More_Cowbell]

11. I look at their Twitter feed every day (you don't need to be on twitter yourself)

https://twitter.com/SheldrickTrust

[Arkansas Granny]

13. Have you checked out their you tube videos? They are wonderful.

[More_Cowbell]

16. Oh, thanks! I had no idea nt

[Duppers]

15. Heartstrings pulled so hard here.

Tears. 💕 Sweet, sweet, sweet.


How could anyone harm these wonderful critter-people.






(OT: Speaking of heartstrings, Folks, are we still working on saving the working dogs in ME countries? See MM post here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142368370)