Baby Elephant Left Trunkless After Hyena Attack Has Been Rescued By Orphanage

A trunkless baby elephant which was also attacked by hyenas has been rescued by a sanctuary.

Tim Silvester, 28, caught the rescue on camera while he was working at the Loisaba Conservancy for wildlife in Kenya.

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As you can see from the pictures, Long'uro the baby elephant has no trunk, after it got stuck in an underground tank back in April.

It's believed that when he poked his trunk up through the top of the tank to investigate, it was chewed off by hyenas.

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The tiny elephant was so young that his umbilical cord was still attached, but when he fell into a shallow well, he was abandoned by his herd.

Thankfully the calf was found by wildlife rangers, before being airlifted to safety. A helicopter took the baby elephant to Samburu - an hour-long flight away - where he's being cared for along with other orphaned elephants.

He will be hand-raised and it's hoped that one day he'll be able to be reintroduced back into the wild.

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The name Long'uro translates to 'someone who has lost a limb', and according to reports, he is getting stronger every day and is 'adapting well to his disability'.

Orphanages are vital lifelines for baby elephants all across the continent. Earlier this year, an albino elephant calf had to be rescued after being trapped in a barbaric snare for four days, having been left with horrific injuries - including a scar across her face.

The animal, a female called Khanyisa, has unique pink skin rather than the usual grey colour associated with elephants.

She was found tangled up in the snare at a private reserve close to the border of Kruger National Park, South Africa, completely alone.

Poor Khanyisa had severe lacerations to the back of both her ears and neck. The snare had also wrapped itself around her cheeks, cutting into her mouth on each side.

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The young elephant's wounds were so bad that maggots had started eating the open flesh decaying around her cheeks, in turn leaving gaping holes in her mouth.

Thankfully, Khanyisa was rescued from her ordeal by an elephant orphanage called Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development (HERD), and is now on the mend in her new home.

Now she is recovering happily at the orphanage, which was built to rehabilitate and hand-rear elephant calves that have been displaced or orphaned.

Topics: Animals

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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