A baby elephant spent more than three hours alone after being swept away from his family at a river crossing in Kenya, before a rescue team got him back to his herd.
Conservation group Save the Elephants shared the story on Instagram on Monday, May 18, saying the male calf, part of a herd known as “The Virtues,” became separated from his family while crossing the swollen Ewaso Nyiro River near Larsens.
The group said tourists first spotted the calf on his own and raised the alarm.
Save the Elephants, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and rangers from Samburu National Reserve then carried out a joint rescue. The team caught the calf and transported him to Buffalo Springs National Reserve, about three hours away, to try to reunite him with his herd.
To help the family accept him after the time apart, rescuers coated the calf in fresh elephant dung to mask unfamiliar scents.
The video shared by the group showed the herd behaving cautiously at first before accepting him back.
“He was even seen nuzzling his mother and playing with the other calves,” the group wrote in the caption. “Reuniting lost calves with their families in the wild is delicate and challenging work and when it succeeds, it’s magic.”
Save the Elephants said the calf had been alone for more than three hours, which it described as a dangerously long time for an elephant so young.
The group said separation can quickly become life-threatening for elephant calves, who rely on their mothers and family group for food, protection and survival, especially in difficult terrain and near dangerous water crossings.
The story drew an emotional response on Instagram.
“Inexperienced mother, big herd and they lost a little one. What a beautiful story…Beautifully done, kudos to all involved,” one person wrote.
“Thank you for the tourists for contacting the right people. Be well little elephant!” another added.
Save the Elephants also said a second rescued calf, who could not be reunited with his family, is receiving expert care and will eventually be rewilded.
Read more from People.
