A beautiful moment of how a released and rehabilitated elephant mama returned to a rescue centre was captured on camera. What is incredible is that she momentarily visited the place to introduce her newborn baby to introduce her to the keepers of the place.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an NGO dedicated to helping orphaned elephants, shared the video on Instagram. They also posted a detailed caption to tell the story of the mama elephant named Olare.
“We hinted at the news, but it’s official: Olare is a mother! On Tuesday, our beautiful ex-orphan returned to Ithumba and proudly introduced us to her equally beautiful baby girl, who we have named Ola,” the organisation wrote.
While recollecting Olare’s story, they shared that her mother’s femur was shattered, likely by a bullet, that left her paralysed. Olare was clinging to her side with ‘eyes wide in fear’. That’s when the rescuers brought the baby to the centre.
“Despite the heartbreak she faced, Olare never let her past define her. She has an enormous heart and has always been an exceptional nanny, first at the Nursery, then at our Ithumba Reintegration Unit, and later to her friends’ wild-born babies. We are thrilled that she now has the opportunity to raise her own baby — and we know that she will be an excellent mother,” the organisation added.
“I absolutely love that the orphans come back to show off their babies! Shows how much they love and appreciate you,” wrote an Instagram user. “No dry eyes anywhere right now reading this. Wow,” added another. “I just love it when they come back and show off their new babies!” expressed a third. “Reading this made me cry. How wonderful,” joined a fourth.