Lost, alone and having suffered life-threatening injuries in the drought-ravaged savannah, the future seemed bleak for these two orphaned baby elephants.
In a separate incident in the searing heat of Zimbabwe, one-month-old Bumi had somehow got stuck among rocks and suffered severe sunburn. Usually, elephant calves are shaded by their mothers.
Labour of love: Ms Danckwerts tends stricken Kadiki. Kadiki had been attacked by a lion when only a day old, suffering deep claw wounds to her trunk and terrible damage to her tail
On the mend: A helper holds the drip as Kadiki, whose name means ‘the little one’ in the local Shona language, takes a stroll
Staff at the nursery say Bumi is now ‘almost unrecognisable’ from his arrival, has developed a mischievous personality and loves playing with tyres
Ms Danckwerts (pictured with Kadiki), who has rescued more than 20 elephants in the past five years, said: ‘Elephants are highly intelligent, with physical and emotional needs unparalleled in other mammals’
Kadiki, whose name means ‘the little one’ in the local Shona language, has had surgery to amputate part of her tail and treatment to her trunk. Now around ten days old, she is well enough to walk about again despite being on a drip.
It is not known what happened to their mothers. As well as drought, calves can end up alone or injured due to poaching, falling into ditches, getting separated from herds or predator attacks, the IFAW says. Pictured: Kadiki (left) and Bumi (right)
Since the calves were airlifted to the International Fund for Animal Welfare-supported nursery near Harare, Ms Danckwerts and her team have stayed by their side. Pictured: Bumi