We are all shell shocked by the seemingly never ending stream of orphans coming into the nursery these past couple of months. When we were called on the 16th September by the Senior Warden of Tsavo West National Park, Daniel Woodley, with news of yet another orphaned elephant, it was hard to believe, making this the busiest time in the history of the Trust, for never have we had so many orphans in the Nursery at any one time. Our Keepers were already on their knees dealing with the sleepless nights which become the norm when dealing with newly rescued orphans in the nursery, yet on hearing the news, three Keepers embarked on the one hour flight to Tsavo West's Kilaguni Airstrip with the same passion for their job as always.
They remained with the calf in the back of their Landover, careful to make water available for him to drink as well as pouring it over him to cool him down on what was an extremely hot day, as they waited for the rescue plane at Kilaguni Airstrip. When the aircraft finally landed our Keepers went about preparing the rescued elephant for the flight, injected him with a mild tranquilizer to take the edge off the whole traumatic experience, and ensured he was given an antibiotic injection before loading him onto the Cessna Caravan.