A baby elephant, found malnourished and terrified near a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, is now receiving care at a conservation center.
Animal experts in Aceh province were alerted last week to the discovery of a dead elephant with its tusks removed.
Upon investigation, the team found the deceased adult and an abandoned 11-month-old calf nearby.
Aceh Conservation Center head Sapto Aji Prabowo shared his suspicion that the adult elephant was likely shot, causing the herd to flee and leaving the calf behind. “The baby was malnourished, so we took him to the elephant conservation center,” Prabowo explained to AFP.
The calf, weighing around 300 kilograms (660 pounds), is noticeably underweight for his age, just over half the typical weight for a young elephant of this size.
Rangers carefully transported the calf to the conservation center, where a team of specialists is now dedicated to his recovery.
Veterinarian Rosa Rika Wahyuni described the calf’s initial state: “He was in bad condition—depressed, weak, and visibly afraid.
But he’s improving,” she said, adding that his gestures slowly become more relaxed as he adjusts to his new environment.
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