THESE amazing pictures show how a five-month-old orphaned baby elephant refused to leave his dead mother’s side, as he held a touching vigil.
The small calf was spotted cuddling up to his mother’s body, who had died from an infection.
Worried wildlife experts feared the young bull could succumb to the cold or be targeted by predators, so worked through the night to capture the mourning animal, who stubbornly refused to move.
Vets were eventually able to tranquillise the youngster in the early hours of the morning, before driving him to a nearby airstrip in Samburu, northern Kenya.
A specialist team then flew in to prepare the calf for a flight to his new home at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanag
Located in the Nairobi National Park, the orphanage is the only one of its kind in Kenya and receives elephants from across the east African country.
After the flight, the severely dehydrated calf was driven to the orphanage, where keepers quenched his thirst with some milk and water.
Some of the other 30 orphans at the nursery were bought in to welcome and comfort the new arrival, who was named Sokotei.
And despite the shock of his new surroundings, it wasn’t long before the grieving calf was making new friends.
“Sokotei’s rescue was a battle against time to keep him safe,” said the Trust’s director Rob Brandford.
“Throughout the night, teams from Save the Elephant and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust were there to support the young calf and everyone had a long night battling to keep him safe from predators by trying to catch him.
“Alone he was extremely vulnerable, but rain and the fact that he’s a wild animal meant we had to wait until morning, when everyone woke very early and ready to face a dramatic few hours.”
The orphanage looks after elephants under the age of three that are still dependent on milk.
After the age of three the elephants are sent to one of two reintegration centres in the Tsavo National Park.
“Once Sokotei is old enough to go to one of our reintegration centres, he will spend time going out into the bush to meet other herds, learn what food is safe and essentially learn how to be a wild elephant,” added Mr Brandford.
“It can be a long process, it depends what age the orphan was rescued. If they were very young and have no memory of living wild, then it can take 7-8 years before they are in a position to survive in the wild.”
Last year almost 50 elephants were rescued by the Trust, with the numbers rising each year as the threat of poaching increases, meaning more calfs are left orphaned.
An autopsy later revealed that Sokotei’s mother, an elephant known as Cherie, died due to a serious internal infection caused by a twisted gut.