HAPPY WEEKEND:
A year ago Amboseli Trust for Elephants went viral showing an elephant calf being rescued from a well. We wanted to share with you this wonderful video, showing the happy news that one year after being rescued, Zombe’s calf is contented and healthy, growing up in the wild with his mother and big sister.
Roaming wild and free, in many years time, this young calf may be key to the future survival of the species.
Jasiri, which means “brave one”, an orphaned albino elephant.
Jasiri was born in December 2011, to Jemima, the matriarch of the JB family. We realised right away he was special; the first albino calf documented in Amboseli in the 40 years we’ve been following them. We were all delighted at how fast he grew, and he was always very fat and full of personality. Tragedy struck at Christmas 2012, when we found Jemima’s carcass. We suspect she may have been shot by poachers, although her tusks were intact. Her daughter Jalila and grand-daughter, Jasiri’s age mate, were also missing and there was no trace of Jasiri. After months passed, we gave up hope of ever finding any of them again.
Imagine our amazement when Jasiri - whose name means “brave” in Kiswahili - appeared, alone in the Park, 3 months after his mothers’ death. He had come almost 20km from the site we found Jemima; I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted that blonde tail hair. We think he survived because he was in such good condition before his mother died, and because it has been a time of plenty in Amboseli. Still, he could never have made it all on his own, and we’re so grateful that DSWT will give him a safe and loving home with other elephants until he is big enough to become a Tsavo elephant in Ithumba. He has been through a great ordeal, and there are no guarantees, but his fighting spirit is inspirational. -VF
(story and photos reposted from Amboseli Trust for Elephants - learn more about The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and consider sponsoring an orphaned elephant like Jasiri today!)
Cynthia Moss explains the importance of an elephants tusks:
“Removing Tusks:
We are often asked: why not saw off the tusks of elephants in order to save them from poachers?
Cynthia explains why:
There are many compelling reasons why it would not be practical, economical or ethical to immobilize every elephant to cut off its tusks.
• It’s logistically difficult. Many elephants live in remote areas, hard to reach and work in. Darting is difficult and dangerous to both the elephants and the veterinarian team.
• It’s numerically impossible. In Kenya alone there are 37,000 elephants. Both male and female African elephants over 2 1/2 years old have tusks, say 30,000 individuals with some ivory. Even if you could immobilise at the world-record rate of 5 a day (which ATE did once in 2011!), the operation would take some 15 years of full-time work. And by that time, the first elephant would have re-grown meter-long tusks!
• It’s expensive. Even if teams of vets and rangers could reach all the elephants, the cost of the exercise would be prohibitive. Among other things the drug is costly and difficult to obtain.
• It would be painful. There is a nerve that runs well down the length of an elephant’s tusk. Cutting the tusk off would be painful, similar to you breaking a tooth. Remember that an elephant tusk is a modified incisor. Cutting beyond the nerve would still leave a third of the tusk in place.
• Finally, elephants need their tusks for feeding and digging and for defending themselves and their calves from predators.”
(this story and photo reposted from the Amboseli Trust for Elephants facebook page)
