On July 5, 2023, the body of a female elephant was found in the Pardamat Conservation Area, a protected savannah in southwestern Kenya. The elephant — which had been speared to death in a human-wildlife conflict — had all the signs of a lactating mother who had recently given birth, but her baby was nowhere to be found.
According to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a leading conservation organization in East Africa, a yearling calf was spotted in the same area a week later. It tried to enter a boma, or fenced area for livestock, belonging to a local Maasai farmer.
“By the time rangers arrived to track him down, he had already joined a nearby herd,” the nonprofit recounted on its website. “Hoping that the calf was not an orphan, but rather belonged to a female in the herd, the decision was made to leave him in place and closely monitor the situation.”
Despite their monitoring, the elephant calf slipped out of sight once more — and the rangers grew anxious. On July 28, rangers from the Pardamat Conservation Area received reports of another elephant calf sighting.
“There were no other elephants in the area, and the young calf was determinedly trying to enter [another] Maasai boma,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust explained. “Arriving on the scene, they quickly realised it was the same baby elephant from two weeks prior.”
The rangers were finally able to restrain the elephant and take it to a mobile vet unit, where he was assessed for immediate harm. Although he was uninjured, the calf had been on the brink of starvation for nearly three weeks.
“When our keepers landed at the airstrip, they were greeted by a most remarkable sight: The little elephant was tucked in the back of the Land Cruiser, his heart-shaped ears spread wide and his trunk extended in greeting,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “While he was certainly flustered, he was not overly stressed by the day’s proceedings.”
The “precious cargo,” who they named Pardamat, was then loaded onto a plane and flown to the organization’s animal nursery in Nairobi.
“Many orphaned elephants arrive at the nursery frightened and suspicious, particularly those who have witnessed the death of a parent,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “However, Pardamat never skipped a beat. He calmed down immediately, embraced his keepers from the outset, and accepted his bottle with gratitude.”
Over the last three years, Pardamat has grown close to the other elephants at the nursery — Mokogodo, Taroha, and Talek — who were all orphaned at an early age.
Edwin, the head elephant keeper, said: “Pardamat is a buddy to all.”
He also has a special bond with Ahmed, a female elephant who lost her own mother when she was two and a half years old.
“Ahmed has adopted him as ‘her’ special baby, which is an interesting development, as she never displayed any maternal instincts until Pardamat arrived,” the nonprofit noted.
According to the nursery, Pardamat is happiest when he’s tagging along after his keepers and playing with his elephant friends.
“After such a long spell searching for care and friendship, Pardamat will never be alone again,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “[He’s] a hopeless rascal, he is a delightful menace — particularly during milk feeds.”
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Featured Image: Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
