A Heroic Rescue
“I bless the rains down in Africa” – from the song “Africa” by Toto
The bond between a mother elephant and her calf runs deep. When baby elephants are born, they are well developed, weighing 300 pounds on average. It’s amazing to watch the tiny newborn calves hustle and keep up with the pace of the herd.
Like human babies, young elephants depend completely on their mothers to survive. Calves nurse for 4-5 years and seldom stray more than a few yards from their mother’s side. They learn everything they need to stay alive from their mothers, nannies and siblings.
In 2020 the seasonal rains in Kenya were unusually long. Everywhere I visited the land was green, the savannah thick with grass. Wildlife and livestock of Maasai and Samburu pastoralists thrived. It was a time of plenty and a time of conception. Like many mammals in East Africa, elephants breed when the land can support a pregnancy. No one anticipated what was coming after such abundance.
An elephant’s gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land mammal. This translated into a bumper crop of births in late 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
Unfortunately, it has barely rained in northern and southern Kenya since 2020. The drought is devastating for wildlife and pastoralists alike. Animals are dying from lack of food and water. I was shocked when I visited Samburu country in the north and Amboseli in the south last June. There was not a blade of grass to be seen. The elephants browsed primarily on shrubs and sticks.
In some parts of the country water holes were dug to help the animals. As the drought continued and the water receded in these reservoirs, they became death traps for elephants who got caught in the mud. This was the case last week when a mother and her calf were found completely stuck in the muck (click to watch the video for the story).
In the depths of the drought, we found a heroic display of hope. With her own life on the line, a mother elephant remained fiercely devoted to her baby. Shoulder-deep in mud and unable to move, she continued to protect him the only way she could, shielding him with her trunk. Tiny as he was, the calf was equally brave, refusing to leave his mother’s side.
This heroic rescue story is a one of hope and resilience. In many places in Kenya people who co-exist with wildlife are doing their best to support the animals during this record drought. Everyone is praying the seasonal rains come in October and November. Rain is always a blessing, it can’t come soon enough for the people and wildlife in Kenya.
I’m happy to report I’ve sold over two thirds of my limited edition of The Wisdom of Elephants! Funds raised by sales go to support elephant conservation in Kenya.