Watch: Baby elephant overcomes foster mom’s clever shooing ploy

When Kadiki wants to be left alone she uses “bottom sounds” to drive Elliot away, but recent footage suggests that the tactic no longer works.

Last January we shared an amusing video showing an orphaned elephant calf running for cover after receiving its foster mom’s powerful “hint” that she wanted to be left alone.

Well, it seems as though the not-so-subtle tactic employed by Kadiki no longer works with the fast-learning Elliot.

“Some of you may remember the hilarious moment when Kadiki’s bottom sounds gave Elliot such a big fright he ran for his life,” Wild is Life stated recently on Instagram. “Seems a few months on, Kadiki’s [gas passing] no longer fazes Elliot!”

Kadiki is Elliot’s 4-year-old foster mom, or “special friend.” Elliot, who lost his family of six, was transported to the Wild is Life Panda Masuie Elephant Release Project in Zimbabwe last winter.

The weeks-old calf was rescued after wandering into a community, where he was harassed by holiday revelers, on Dec. 26 2022.

He ended up at the Wild is Life Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery in Harare, where he was stabled with Kadiki. The two have developed a close bond and, for the most part, enjoy each other’s company.