Tag: rescue elephant

Orphaned elephant ’embraces inner helicopter’ in adorable video

A 2-year-old elephant rescued as an orphan in Kenya is overcoming her shyness and was recently seen twirling her trunk as though ready to fly.

A 2-year-old elephant rescued as an orphan in Kenya is overcoming her shyness and on Friday was seen twirling her trunk as though ready to fly.

“Out in the forest this morning, Amali decided to embrace her inner helicopter!” The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust described in a video tweet. “Rescued just 6 months ago – a victim of drought – Amali was shy for a long time, but recently she’s really coming out of her shell.”

Amali resides at the Omani Springs Reintegration Unit in the Kibwezi Forest. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust uses this part of the forest to help orphaned elephants “move beyond the tragedies of their past and live as nature intended.”

Amali was rescued in the Tsavo Ecosystem last October and appears to be making tremendous progress.

Baby elephant gets ‘hint’ that foster mom wants to be left alone

An orphaned elephant calf discovered recently that nagging its foster mom can involve unpleasant consequences.

An orphaned elephant calf discovered recently that nagging its foster mom can bring about unpleasant consequences.

The accompanying footage, shared Wednesday by Wild is Life, shows the baby male elephant, Elliot, trying to wake mom to play, and reacting to her not-so-subtle hint to leave her alone.

“Watch until the end – with sound on,” Wild is Life advised followers on Facebook. “Kadiki has a very clever way to tell Elliot once she’s had enough.”

Kadiki is the 3-year-old foster mom. Elliot, only a few weeks old, is the latest orphaned elephant to arrive at the Wild is Life Panda Masuie Elephant Release Project in Zimbabwe.

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Elliot’s family of six elephants was killed and the case is under investigation (poaching is not suspected).

According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Elliot was rescued after wandering into a community on Dec. 26, while being harassed by holiday revelers.

Elliot and Kadiki. Photo: ©IFAW

Elliot is currently in good health at the WIL Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery (ZEN) in Harare, which cares for young orphaned elephants. Elliot shares a stable with Kadiki and the two have developed a close bond.

“Elliot is drinking voraciously—consuming 21 liters a day of special neonate milk formula—and he is partial to having fun by chasing ducks and other large birds,” WIL ZEN founder Roxy Danckwerts told the IFAW. “He has so much energy, and it’s a joy to see such a tiny elephant having such a good time.”

The WIL ZEN nursery has rescued more than 50 orphaned elephants. At present, 30 elephants are undergoing rehabilitation at the Panda Masuie facility, and 12 are close to being released back in to the wild.

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Injured elephant gets prosthetic brace, becomes ‘fashionista’

An elephant in Thailand has been fitted with a prosthetic brace to make her more comfortable in her new “forever home” at a rescue and rehabilitation facility.

An elephant in Thailand has been fitted with a prosthetic brace to make her more comfortable in her new “forever home” at a rescue and rehabilitation facility.

Elephant Nature Park on Saturday shared the accompanying photos of Mae Mai, the 31-year-old elephant, sporting a pink-and-purple brace constructed by Derrick Campana and his team at Bionic Pets.

The brace was fitted late last week. An Elephant Nature Park spokeswoman told ForTheWin Outdoors that Mae Mai is still adjusting while “walking slowly but with more confidence.”

Mae Mai being fitted with a brace. Photo: Elephant Nature Park

In a Saturday Facebook post, the facility thanked Campana and the Gentle Giant Stay Home Project, and other supporters who are helping to ensure a comfortable existence for Mae Mai.

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Mae Mai is a former overworked logging elephant. After she suffered a broken hind leg, she became emaciated and fell into ill heath at a camp that was unable to provide her with adequate care.

Photo: Elephant Nature Park

In January 2021, she was walked from the camp along a river to Elephant Nature Park, where she was treated by veterinarians. She walked because she was too weak to step onto a truck (see photo below).

Mae Mai’s condition steadily improved and it wasn’t long before she began “to eat everything in front of her as if she never had food before,” the facility states on its website.

An injured and emaciated Mae Mai before arriving at Elephant Nature Park

Now a permanent resident, and outfitted with the brace, Mae Mai is said to be walking free of pain.

“Look at how much better she looks now – and has become a bit of a fashionista, too, because of her leg brace,” reads one of dozens of comments beneath the Facebook post.

The Virginia-based Bionic Pets designs and constructs prosthetic devices and artificial limbs for animals large and small.