In a completely heart-melting scene, a baby elephant receives comfort and affection from a new herd after losing his mother. The emotional moment happened at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – an elephant orphanage – and it shows once again that these creatures are special beyond human imagination.
Founded in 1977 by Dame Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband, David Sheldrick – The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has rescued and rehabilitated countless orphaned elephants over the years. But among them, there was one particular situation – involving a one-year-old rescue – that melt everyone’s heart.
A few years ago, while surveying the Tiva River area in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, by plane, a research team from the reserve noticed a baby elephant wandering alone on the riverbank. They immediately realized something was wrong, so a rescue team was dispatched to the scene.
As soon as they got there, rescuers encountered an exhausted calf desperately crying for his mother. Unfortunately, his mother passed away a long time ago, but luckily for him, he met the kindest people.
Once they took him to the orphanage, the one-year-old elephant, later named Mukkoka, undergone a medical evaluation. He was properly fed the Sheldrick’s orphanage miracle milk formula and miraculously recovered within a few days. However, life is nothing but hard for an orphaned elephant, so the volunteers decided to introduce Mukkoka to her, hoping he would find at least some solace.
But the way his new family greeted him at first sight left everyone speechless. Like it’s all new to what he’s been through, the herd gathered around him and touched him gently with their trunks like they’re saying – “sweetheart, you’re not alone anymore, we’re here for you!” The moment image quickly won everyone’s heart.
“They immediately encased him and led him into the woods to meet the rest of the herd,” said Rob Brandford, chief executive officer director of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. “The greeting he received was warm, as the other children reached out to comfort and welcome Mukkoka as a new member of the family.”
While elephants are notoriously overprotective when it comes to giving birth to their babies – even if it’s not their own – and are extremely social animals, on the other hand, moments like this leave us to the bottom heart.
Learn more about Mukkoka’s rescue in the video below!
