This region has experienced heavy rains for a number of weeks, and while beautifully green, and food now plentiful, baby elephants during this time are extremely vulnerable when crossing the swollen river Ewaso Niro. ‘Hospitali’ pulled the calf to the safety of dry land, and once the tiny baby had regained his strength, walked the calf the ½ kilometer to Sasaab Lodge where ‘Hospitali’ works.
The rescue plane landed at the Kipsing airfield and the team was met by Tony and taken to the lodge where the tiny little male calf waited their arrival.
Still pink behind the ears, and clearly very hungry he immediately took the milk offered to him without too much resistance.
After that his bumps and bruises from being swept down river were treated with the magical green clay, before he was prepared for his one hour flight back to Nairobi.
Later he was introduced to the others, and immediately settled knowing that he had his elephant family once again.
Little babies this age, while incredibly fragile and difficult to raise on formula, do not suffer the same emotional trauma elephants of five months and older feel.
We have named this tiny little calf Sasab, and a couple of weeks on from his rescue he has just sprouted his first tooth, which normally happens at four weeks old. We therefore suspect Sasab was just two weeks when orphaned.