Help There’s an Elephant in the Well!
Last September a tiny elephant calf fell in a well in Northern Kenya. The region was experiencing a devastating drought. The local Samburu people dig wells for their livestock in riverbeds during the dry season. They bring their animals to drink during the day and elephants take advantage of the wells at night. Unfortunately, sometimes a calf falls in and the elephants are unable to help it out. Herders found the baby, alone, frightened, waterlogged, and struggling in the well the next morning.
The herdsmen alerted Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and asked for help. With a great deal of effort and lots of experience the team hauled the calf out using straps and human muscle. An elephant calf this size weighs 200–300 pounds. It was not an easy task. The calf’s feet and legs were white he had been in the water so long. Reteti’s first step in all rescues is to try to reunite an orphaned calf with its mother. The team tied the calf to a tree and retreated giving it space in the hope its family would return. They had to restrain the orphan to protect it from hyenas.
Elephants are devoted mothers. They would only abandon a calf after all efforts to rescue it had been tried. It’s heartbreaking to imagine how desperate the mother would have been to save her baby. I imagine the herd left when they knew the local Samburu pastoralists were arriving in the morning with their cattle.
The rescue team waited all day and the following night. Herds of elephants came to drink but they did not claim the calf. The team stayed put hoping the mother would show up. During the second night they got news that another herd was in the area including a distressed female who seemed to have been breastfeeding. Hope rose that she was the calf’s mother.
When the elephants arrived at the well the rescuers released the baby. Apparently, there was a lot of trumpeting in the group and all the animals drank but when they moved on the baby was left behind. I can’t imagine the emotions both human and animals felt at that moment. The calf’s survival was now at risk. Elephants are a lot like humans in their nutritional and emotional needs. Calves feed every 3 hours. A baby sticks close to its mother for comfort, milk, and touch. Exhausted and heartbroken, the team made the decision they had to take the calf back to Reteti to care for it.
It is hard to know what was going on in the hearts and minds of the mother and abandoned calf. Elephants react to traumatic events with similar symptoms as us. They show grief and suffer from depression and anxiety like we do. As a trauma therapist, I know having compassionate support is an essential ingredient in healing from loss. Being with others who understand and are caring builds resilience and aids recovery. It takes time and attention. The rescued calf is now in the care of dedicated keepers and surrounded by other young elephants who have been orphaned due to drought or human wildlife conflict.
The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary opened in 2016. The orphanage is having a profound effect on local communities. It provides employment and purpose to the Samburu people who have coexisted with wildlife for centuries. It is the first rescue operation that is completely owned and managed by indigenous people. It is also the first to hire women as keepers. During COVID when the ability to get formula for the orphans was restricted, the Reteti team discovered goats’ milk was a viable option. Now local women have a market for their milk and elephants’ lives are being saved. Talk about win/win!
If you’d like to follow the video of the rescue of the latest member of Reteti’s family check out @r.e.s.c.u.e. on Instagram. It costs $450 to feed a baby calf for 2 weeks. With COVID eliminating all tourism to the region for many months Reteti has had a very tough year. In the past 3 weeks alone, they have rescued 7 abandoned calves due to the drought. That’s as many as they usually save in a single year.
