Lost, alone and having suffered life-threatening injuries in the drought-ravaged savannah, the future seemed bleak for these two orphaned baby elephants.
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. She was so young, she had not yet been fed by her mother.
One-month-old Bumi had somehow got stuck among rocks and suffered severe sunburn before he was taken in by veteran animal rescuer Roxy Danckwerts, 53. Pictured: Bumi on board a rescue plane
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
Luckily, rescuers found them and now their survival against the odds – chronicled in these charming images – can be trumpeted.
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.
As for Bumi, staff at the nursery say he is now ‘almost unrecognisable’ from his arrival, has developed a mischievous personality and loves playing with tyres.
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.
Thanks to a ground-breaking new project between Wild is Life-ZEN and IFAW, the first of its kind in Zimbabwe, they and other rescued elephants have the chance at a whole new future, back in the wild where they can roam safely with other herds in a vast forest reserve, protected from poaching or hunting.
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