The young brave elephant was Simotua. He was caught in a snare trap and attacked with spears by evil poachers. When the
David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) received the emergency call to save the animal, he had been left in the Rumuruti Forest for quite a long time.
Image Credit: The DSWT
The one-year-old calf was suffering from a deep spear wound right on his forehead. One of its legs was wrapped tightly by a dangerous snare trap. Both of the injuries are life-threatening. The rescue team took the calf to a local airstrip where he received a quick health assessment by a veterinary team.
Image Credit: The DSWT
The rescue team then took Simotua on board, flew 230km to the DSWT orphanage in
Nairobi National Park. When they arrived, Simotua immediately received around-the-clock medical treatment due to his severe heal condition.
Image Credit: The DSWT
"We believe Simotua was attacked by ivory poachers - the snare had cut through the skin and flesh on his leg, cutting down to the bone, which would have made any movement extremely painful and meant he could not walk far for food or water" - said Rob Brandford, the Executive Director of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (UK).
Image Credit: The DSWT
Simotua was caught in the snare trap, was attacked, and then was left heartlessly by the poachers. Possibly, they realized that he has no ivory tusk that they were looking for. Luckily, he was found in time. With his critical conditions, starvation and infection could easily end his life in a short time.
Image Credit: The DSWT
At the orphanage, Simotua made a speedy recovery. The caretakers tried their best to ensure his wounds were cleaned and treated, packed with green clay, and antibiotics were administered. He also had many new friends at the orphanage. Other elephant friends were an important factor that contributed to his quick health improvement. They gave him care and love, comforted the little young calf to overcome his pains.
‘Two weeks after his rescue, his wound had healed enough to let him venture out of his stockade and walk throughout the forest for the first time, as he gingerly put weight on his damaged leg."
Image Credit: The DSWT
The attack of poachers on Simotua was due to the demand for ivory in Asia. This fueled the illegal ivory trade in Africa, resulting in more elephants falling victims to poaching. Approximately, one elephant is hunted down every 15 minutes in Africa. This is an alarming rate.
August 12th every year is The World's Elephant Day. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick, the charity's founder, wants to use this day to highlight this malignant problem that blights one of the planet’s iconic species.
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