Happy Valentine’s Day!

All the orphaned animals we rescue require more than just physical care to thrive, unconditional love and physical touch are integral to any orphan’s recovery. This is especially true for elephants. They are one of the few animals capable of displaying emotions, including compassion, grief, and empathy, and it is vital that we nurture the emotions of the orphaned elephants that come into our care.

Elephants are incredibly sensitive and complex social animals, who seek the companionship of other elephants, forming expanded elephant families and strong friendships throughout their lifetime. In the wild, female elephants remain with their herd for their entire lives, while bulls, who stay with their family group, till adolescence, venture out on their own, and often form ‘bachelor herds’ made up of other males.

The orphans that we raise, here at the Sheldrick Trust, are no different – forming friendships and family groups with fellow orphans, and the human Keepers who care for them. The Keepers have an unending love for the rescued orphans in our care, one they relate to the love they hold for their human children. They provide attentive round-the-clock care in order to support the orphans to overcome the loss of their mothers. It’s a loving bond that once formed, will last a lifetime, and even when the orphans are all grown up and are living back in the wild, they will often visit us to say hello. Many of our wild-living orphans have brought their wild-born babies back to our units to celebrate their joy, even going so far as to give birth at the Stockades they once called home, safe in the knowledge that they are surrounded by family. Others have returned to seek help for injuries sustain in the wild, and others still have led injured, fully wild, elephants back to our units so that they may be treated for their wounds. 

To maintain these strong social bonds and friendships, elephants rely heavily on touch. Young elephants stay very close to their mother for their first few years. During this informative stage in their development, elephants require guidance and regular touch from their mother for reassurance; they’ll often suck on their own trunks for comfort to, in a similar way to how a human child might suck a thumb. When orphaned elephants come into our care, our Keepers must take on the responsibility of a mother, in protecting and comforting their young. As would be the case in a herd, the babies in our care are never alone, the Keepers are ever-present, walking with them in the bush by day, and sleeping alongside them in a stable at night. If it gets cold, they will cover the younger babies with blankets, too hot and they can enjoy a mud bath or being cooled with a hose, too sunny and an umbrella is used to shade their delicate skin against the sun’s rays – as a mother elephant would protect her calf with her shadow. Our Keepers provide unconditional love.

And so, love is integral to our success in raising orphaned elephants, from our compassionate Keepers to the elephants that trust in them, love and trust are shared equally between our two species. We can all learn a lesson in love from them, not only today but every day, in seeking to display compassion and love to those with whom we share this earth. So from all the team at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and on behalf of the orphans you empower us to help, Happy Valentine’s Day!