Meet Korbessa, the 3-year-old African elephant at Kenya’s Sheldrick Wildlife Trust who answers to “little frog.”
The conservation group says the nickname fits. “While she is not green in color, she is such a fan of eating greens that she may as well be!” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said on its website.
It said she also loves water. “Mud, puddles, water troughs, it is all fair game for our little frog. But perhaps her most frog-like quality is the way she plops down on her belly, front legs splayed out.”
“It is not a position usually preferred by elephants,” the conservation organization said, “but Korbessa is no ordinary elephant.”
Korbessa was rescued on August 23, 2023, after Kenya Wildlife Service rangers heard elephants trumpeting near an old well in Meru National Park.
“At first light, they went to investigate. Their patrol ended at the Korbesa well, and much to their surprise, they found a tiny elephant calf staring at them from inside,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said.
“Clearly, the calf had fallen in the night prior,” the organization said. “While many modern wells are built with greater consideration, traditional wells can be a death trap for young elephants. Deep and steep, stout legs are unable to clamber to safety. This calf was young, a few days old, at most, and had no chance of getting out on her own.”
Rangers jumped into the well and pulled the calf out. They then stayed nearby while waiting for a mobile veterinarian, hoping she could reunite with her mother.
Two hours passed and no elephants returned.
“By the time the vet unit arrived, the little elephant was absolutely spent,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “She was suffering from acute exhaustion, but was also so stressed from her ordeal that she could not relax. Dr. Aminga gave her fluids, glucose, and water, which had an immediate effect. Bolstered by fluids, she soon drifted into a deep slumber.”
The team waited four hours in total for adult elephants to return. After that, the Kenya Wildlife Service approved a rescue and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust airlifted her to the Kaluku Neonate Nursery.
“We named the orphan Korbessa to forever connect her to her origins. Korbessa was put into a stable next to Toto,” the organization said.
“Although Toto is 18 months her senior, effectively making him her ‘big brother,’ it immediately became clear who the boss was. In fact, we all became Korbessa’s subjects!”
At the sanctuary, Korbessa is known as the “queen of Kaluku.” Because she was so young, she was given around-the-clock care by keepers Joseph, Jonas, Sammy and Simon.
“Korbessa is absolutely obsessed with her bedroom,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “It is easy to understand why: Her keepers have turned it into a palace fit for a queen. The radio is often playing, Korbessa is a big fan of Kenyan musicians, with fresh greens hanging in place and a soft mattress just waiting to become a little elephant’s throne.”
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said elephants are slow-growing and Korbessa, now 3 years old, is still too young to live freely in the wild.
“It is a rare privilege to be part of an elephant’s journey from the very beginning,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “Korbessa was only a few days old when fate left her orphaned, but now she has her entire life ahead of her.”
“Only time will tell her future, again, we predict she will become a matriarch in the fullness of time, but we will be there to support her, look after her, and love her every step of the way.”
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