A wild bull elephant – who had been suffering for at least two years with a terrible leg injury due to a snare – was recently saved by an intrepid group of veterinarians and conservationists in Zimbabwe.
“He’s been seen each lunchtime in the company of another three bulls for the last two days,” wrote veterinarian Lisa Marabini of AWARE Trust, a veterinarian-led, wildlife conservation organization in Zimbabwe, in a newsletter. “He is feeling more vulnerable than the other three elephants and keeps his distance from people.”
The elephant also had visible circular patches on his skin, likely from an infection, which indicated his immune system wasn’t functioning properly.
It was clear that the snare had to be removed.
So Marabini and Keith Dutlow, another veterinarian from AWARE, drove 500 miles to tend to the suffering animal.
“The elephants are fully aware they are being stalked. Every time the team maneuvers into a potential darting position the elephant turns to face them, shaking his great ears menacingly,” Marabini wrote. “On more than one occasion Keith has to wave his arms and yell at the elephant, although this only serves to make him take flight, and run out of sight.”
The drug AWARE vets used to sedate the elephant takes 8 to 10 minutes to activate. But there are many risks. One is that the elephant could fall on his trunk and cut off his ability to breathe. Even if the elephant lands on his chest and is breathing fine, the weight of his body could crush the nerves on his back legs, Marabini noted in the newsletter.
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
So, in order to prevent problems, the team adjusted his body.
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
Immediately, Marabini and Dutlow began to remove the massive wire snare from the elephant’s leg. “The elephant flinches and flaps his ears. Despite him being narcotised, his right eye seems to be watching everything we are doing,” wrote Marabini.
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
But much of the snare still remained.
And then, daylight began to fall.
“[We] began to think this snare will defeat [us],” wrote Marabini.
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
Then the vets decided to make one last attempt to remove the snare under the Land Rover’s headlights and the modest illumination of cell phones.
And it worked:
“At long last, Keith triumphantly utters, ‘got you, you bitch!’,” wrote Marabini, as the piece of wire came out from the incision. “Elation washes over everyone present!! The stress has all been worth it for this moment.”
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
Wildlife Conflict Management – Chirundu Elephant Program
The vets cleaned the wound, antibiotics were administered and the elephant was given a drug to reverse the sedative: “In the pitch blackness we can just make out the outline of the elephant lumbering to its feet from ten meters away,” recalled Marabini.
Unfortunately, not all elephants are as fortunate as this bull. Last month, AWARE veterinarians tried to treat an elephant with an eye injury, but due to complications, the effort failed.Aware Trust
The elephant had an AK-47 bullet hole in his cheek and trunk, likely a victim of the wildlife trade in ivory.
“The holocaust of elephants has its foot in Zimbabwe’s door,” said Marabini. “EVERY elephant life now counts.”