The Kenya Wildlife Service team in Eselenkei, on the border of Amboseli National Park, rescued an orphaned baby elephant over Easter weekend.
Edward Kariuki of KWS attended to the rescued elephant before it was airlifted in a chopper by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to their orphanage at Nairobi National Park for further care.
Workers at the elephant orphanage centre were excited to receive a new baby as Christians worldwide observed the resurrection of Jesus.
“What a special Easter weekend! Thank you to our KWS Amboseli Team for rescuing this baby elephant. We wish it many more years," said Titus Ntiati, KWS worker.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates the world's most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program.
The trust has so far raised 316 elephant orphans and attended 10,473 veterinary cases with 25 anti-poaching teams across the country.
The orphanage was started 45 years ago.
Meanwhile, before the onset of the rains, the Amboseli National Park lost many young elephants to the drought.
The rain has returned to the Amboseli ecosystem, but it's too little, too late for thousands of wildlife that have already perished in Kenya’s worst drought in 40 years.
If it continues to rain, life may come to normal during this long rains period after the county failed to get any rain late last year.
According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which also operates in Amboseli Kenya’s so-called “short rains” season late last year delivered below-average rainfalls, making it the fifth-consecutive period of below-average rainfall.
Conservationists say the deadly drought—believed to be the worst in 40 years—has killed more wildlife in Amboseli than any other on record.
Reliable information accessible to KWS and IFAW indicates that the Amboseli ecosystem lost 6,093 animals in total to this drought between June and November 2022.
This represents 20 species of wildlife, including 127 elephants (33 adults, 25 sub-adults and 69 calves), 93 Masai giraffes, 3,872 wildebeest, 1,395 Common zebra, 131 Thomson’s gazelle, 174 Grant’s gazelle, 106 impalas, 52 buffalo and 93 endangered Masai giraffe.
The last major drought in Kenya was during 2009-2010 when 200 wildebeest, 60 elephants, and 95 zebras died.
“Sadly, the short rains weren’t enough in quantity and extent to facilitate new seedlings to sprout and reseed the lands. The environment remains barren and starved of new vegetation—vital for wildlife,” says Evan Mkala, Program manager for IFAW.
“It has left grazing for wildlife and the cattle of traditional Maasai herders in short supply. Experience has taught us that it will take at least three years of continuous rains before everything returns to normal.”
Mkala noted that IFAW’s interventions in the area have been focused on not just mitigating the situation but also building resilience among communities.
“The drought has been caused by climate change with disasters such as this anticipated to only get worse. We cannot afford to provide short-term solutions—we need long-term action and change,” said Mkala.
