Elephants are exceedingly intelligent and loving creatures. So, 1-year-old Mukkoka was in good hands among his fellow elephants.
The elephant was found wandering all alone near the Tiva River in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park.
The poor calf’s mother and family couldn’t be found and Mukkoka was scared.
But his frightened loneliness didn’t last long. Staff from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) found Mukkoka and took him in.
They were doing an aerial sweep of the area when they spotted the calf’s lone footprints in the sand.
They brought the presumably orphaned elephant to a rehabilitation sanctuary to get checked out.
DSWT’s team found that the calf was in desperate need of milk since he had been away from his momma for so long.
Thanks to their loving care, Mukkoka was feeling a lot better within a few days.
This meant that he was ready to be introduced to the other orphan elephants at the sanctuary.
They were the only ones who could fully heal Mukkoka’s main ailment: his broken heart.
And the other orphaned elephants knew this.
As soon as they saw Mukkoka they instantly surrounded the baby.
They caressed the calf with their trunks and showered him with love and comfort.
He had a family once again.
“They immediately enveloped him and led him out into the forest to meet the rest of the nursery herd,” Rob Brandford, executive director of DSWT, told The Dodo.
“The greeting he was met with was a warm one, with the other babies reaching out their trunks to comfort and welcome Mukkoka as a new family member.”
This is typical elephant behavior, according to Pets on Mom.ME.
“These intelligent and empathetic animals form close bonds with members of their herd and have developed many ways to communicate affection and support for one another,” the website says.
“Elephants use their trunks much like people use their hands, and the ends of their trunks are more sensitive than human fingertips. Trunks have as many as 100,000 different muscles and play a central role in the animals’ communication with each other. Elephants stroke or caress each others’ heads and backs with their trunks to console or comfort loved ones.”
Mukkoka’s caretakers were touched by the love and support the baby elephant was shown.
“Though it is something we have seen time and again, the empathy shown by these elephants never ceases to amaze,” Brandford said. “Remembering that they too have experienced the loss of their own family, their level of compassion is genuinely heartwarming to watch as they reach out to newly orphaned calves, offering comfort and friendship.”
Mukkoka now feels save and love in his new family life thanks to his fellow orphans.