In a video of this special moment, the small calf, whom rescuers have named Yoyo, doesn’t stray too far from his mom — but he flaps his ears and waves his trunk around in excitement. Yatta also brought her firstborn daughter, Yetu, for the visit, who stands watch near her new little brother.
“She’s a proud momma,” caretakers said about Yatta. “And in a show of absolute trust and affection, she brought her newest baby back to meet the people who saved her.”
While it’s quite common for ex-orphans to return with their newborn calves, every time they decide to visit “is amazing,” Rob Brandford, of DSWT, told The Dodo.
“We have not only saved an orphan baby and raised her, but she has successfully returned to the wild and started her own family,” Brandford said. “For elephants, family is everything — so it’s no surprise that they choose to share their new family member with their former human carers, for they are part of their family.”
“Imagine our delight when she chose to share her second birth with us, returning to her former stockades and her human family, so that we could be a part of celebrating the arrival of her new baby — a healthy little boy,” caretakers added in an update.
New wild-born calves are a welcome sight for DSWT, which saves countless orphaned and injured elephants each year — many of whom are victims of poachers.
That was the case for Yatta, whose mother was killed for her tusks when she was only 1 month old. Men working nearby heard young Yatta’s cries, and they helped transport her into DSWT’s care.
“We are delighted to witness the ex-orphan herds beginning to expand so naturally,” caretakers added. “There could be no greater gift for us, or testament to the success of the Orphans Project, than to share the joy of such perfectly healthy baby elephants like our three ‘October kids.’”