Orphaned Baby Elephant Returns To ‘Human Parent’ After Rejection By Her Herd

THE two-year-old elephant, Chabakeaw, was rescued fives months ago by wildlife officers after she found herself trapped and abandoned in mud in Bueng Kan, notheastern Thailand.

She was discovered on the April 4 and has been under human care ever since. The wildlife officers nurtured and hand-reared her before attempting to send her back with her herd on September 18.

However Chabakeaw’s reunion with her herd did not go as hoped and two days later officers found she abandoned again, around a mile away from where she was released.

It is believed that she was deserted for being in contact with humans for too long and was not accepted by the herd leader. Chabakeaw too would have had difficulty in adapting to the elephant behaviour in the wild.

Pichet Noonto, an elephant specialist from the IUCN Species Survival Commission explained that Chabakeaw in now unable to blend into the herd after she was left just as a baby.

‘We will continue to care for her while we plan her future, but sending her back to the herd again might not be on of the options.’

The reunion between Chabakeaw and her ‘human parent’ is touching and shows a heart-warming moment of carer and animal. The evident relief of the young animal to find herself in safe hands once more. She settles down on the lap of her carer for a nap, secure in the safety and comfort of whom for her is more than just a carer, for Chabakeaw the carer is her family.