An elephant at a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya gave birth to a calf, which startled the rest of the herd, the mother and the head keeper who were unprepared for the arrival of the newest addition to the family.
The news was shared by Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on Twitter, an organisation which looks after rescue, rehabilitation & release of orphaned baby elephants. The 25-second video shows the newborn baby elephant lying on the ground while a herd of elephants surround and observe the calf. They captioned the video as, “Baby elephant born before our eyes. This was the moment yesterday morning, when ex orphan Melia gave birth to her first calf! Incredible scenes.” The newborn has been named Milo by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which means “beloved”
Watch the video here:
Baby elephant born before our eyes. This was the moment yesterday morning, when ex orphan Melia gave birth to her first calf! Incredible scenes. Read the full story at https://t.co/OFnA4XlihR #elephantbirth pic.twitter.com/PBmjkl4oyf
— Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (@SheldrickTrust) October 30, 2022
The video has amassed over 51,000 views and 4000 likes. Appreciating the efforts of the trust, one user commented, “Better than heartwarming! Surrounded by love on all sides from elephants and humans. Thank you keepers for making this possible. You are great human beings!”
“Wow seeing Milo arrival on earth is Incredible!! His feet are white and look like he has new shoes on.Hearing the keepers happy sounds in the background are great, like proud Dad's!!,” said another user.
The Trust shared that wild elephants and ex-orphans began congregating outside Ithumba as they are habitual to doing so in the dry season. The Head Keeper, Benjamin heard a loud noise and noticed a flurry of movement. All the elephants seemed startled about whatever had landed and even the older females, who are usually quite placid, made themselves scarce.
Before the Head Keeper could understand what had happened, the other elephants came running over. Mr Benjamin then realised Melia, an ex-orphan had given birth to and the baby elephant was still partially wrapped in white placenta.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust added that Melia had grown progressively rounder but being a large elephant, she hides her weight well and it was impossible for the Trust to know when she was expecting a baby. Melia visited the stockades the night prior, but nothing hinted that she would go into labour hours later, they added.
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In fact, the mother, Melia, seemed flummoxed by the tiny baby lying before her. Other experienced elephants stepped in and helped the first-time mother come to grips with the situation, the Trust informed. Gradually, as the day progressed, she kept staring at her little baby and caressed him with her trunk.
