A Wounded Ele

Naboisho rangers spotted a mother elephant with a large wound on her back which was oozing pus - always a sign of serious infection and potentially life threatening. She had two calves.

The KWS vet was called in for treatment. However, because of her injury, she was skittish and had retreated into a very dense Croton thicket. The rangers tried to flush her and the young ones out but with such harsh terrain, the job is difficult and dangerous.

Fortunately, with the aid of the Mara Elephant Project’s (MEP) helicopter, we were able to get closer and dart the elephant from the air and then push her into the open. It takes at least 10 minutes for the sedative to take effect.

Naboisho ranger cars, along with the aid of the MEP and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust vehicles managed to corral the very frightened elephants from returning to the thick bush - which would have made treatment difficult.

Although the mother was successfully tranquilized, we still had to push off her babies who were trying to protect her but we kept them at a safe distance and prevented them from running off.

The injury was a massive spear wound. One of the many unfortunate and alarmingly frequent results of human/wildlife conflict.

The experienced team quickly got to work in treating the mother. The wound needed cleaning, and treatment with antibiotics to prevent it from re-infection.

The KWS vet was very fast and within 10 minutes the treatment was complete. The antidote was administered and the mother elephant woke up, groggy but stable. We herded her towards her young calves and they were reunited. The diagnosis is good. She’s out of pain and should heal nicely.

Without the support of KWS, DSWT, MEP, and the experienced Naboisho rangers this sort of assistance would not have been possible. We need to continue protecting areas that shelter these magnificent creatures. Naboisho is one of those places.

Check out all the photos on Instagram here.