[kintera.org]
Fred O'Reagan of the International Fund for Animal Welfare sent out a heartbreaking story the other day. What we are looking at in the photo is a mother elephant's head, seen from above, on the right. She was trying to comfort her injured newborn calf, on the lower left. The baby had tumbled down a steep ravine and was injured. The mother elephant made her way down the perilous slopes, through rocky terrain, gravely injuring herself in the process of reaching her baby's side.
She reached over to him with the end of her trunk, to comfort him. That was as close to him as she could get. When the wildlife team arrived to help her baby, and she knew that he was safe, she died of her wounds.
Baby Dev was lifted out on a sling, in critical condition. But today's update relates that the little guy is now standing and walking, feeding from a bottle every two hours, and enjoying salt baths to heal his wounds. He is still stressed and traumatized, and receiving round the clock care.
Poor little elephant. And what a devoted mother.
To contact IFAW, email info-ca@ifaw.org
