In early September, people living near Tsavo East National Park in Kenya came across a bizarre sight — in the middle of a dam was a strange gray lump. It was a baby elephant.
“The conditions surrounding the dam were extremely difficult with slippery mud, and it could be that the herd were simply unable to free the stricken calf in the treacherous mud and gave up, or that their efforts were disturbed and they fled,” Brandford told The Dodo.
“His survival is certainly credit to the fact that he has a trunk and was able to use it like a snorkel, raised above the muddy water so he could continue to breathe,” Brandford said. “Without it, he wouldn’t have stood a chance given he was submerged in the muddy water. We don’t know how long he had been stuck, but he was certainly exhausted from the effort of trying to stay alive.”
The baby, who was later named Dololo, was finally on dry land, but he wasn’t out of trouble — he was still exhausted and sick. The KWS team loaded him onto a Land Cruiser and drove him to their camp. Then they contacted DSWT, which sent vets and keepers in a helicopter to relocate the baby elephant to the intensive care unit at the DSWT nursery.
“Dololo came to us in an extremely bad way,” Brandford said. “He was incredibly weak, was suffering from an infestation of worms (that likely affected his condition before he slipped), his eyes needed attention having been submerged in foul water for hours and he had potentially ingested water into his lungs, which could lead to pneumonia. With these ailments combined, his outlook was bleak, but we persevered, as we do for all new rescues, never giving up on him or his health.”
“Considering how weak and exhausted he was, it was surprising that he was able to stand unaided so soon after his rescue, as many orphans are unable to achieve this,” Brandford said. “It’s [a] testament to his strong character and desire to live.”
With the loving care of the DSWT keepers and vet team, Dololo slowly regained his health. He eagerly drank from the bottles of milk the keepers offered to him, and ate the fresh greens provided to him each day. Once he was strong enough, Dololo was able to join the larger herd of orphaned elephants who live at the DSWT center.