Wild Elephant Brings Her New Baby To Meet The People Who Rescued Her 10 Years Ago

Jun 26, 2019 by apost team

Showing off a new baby is quite common, at least, in the human world. But, what about the elephant world? If the new baby is the offspring of an elephant rescued by humans, the visits are epic.

Yatta the elephant brought her newborn baby to meet the humans who make up part of her extended families. These were her caretakers at the Kenya-based David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Back in 1999, Yatta was orphaned when she was only a month old. She survived because she was lucky enough to take to the sanctuary and hand-raised by humans along with other orphaned elephants.

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The sanctuary's goal was not to keep any of the babies in captivity but to release them to the wild. Roughly ten years ago, Yatta was successfully integrated with a herd of ex-orphans, already living in the wild.

Though Yatta is happy to be in the wild, she will never forget the people and place she spent so much time as a young elephant. That's why she was so proud to show off her youngest, a male who the humans named YoYo. Yatta brought along her firstborn, a female named Yetu.

"We have not only saved an orphan baby and raised her, but she has successfully returned to the wild and started her own family," Rob Brandford, a member of the DSWT told The Dodo. "For elephants, family is everything — so it's no surprise that they choose to share their new family member with their former human carers, for they are part of their family."

The Wildlife Trust has seen success with its integration program. They have had 28 births of wild-born infants to the ex-orphans. They welcome every new birth. Unfortunately, they also see the worst things done to elephants by poachers.

Yatta's own mother was a victim of poachers, killed for her ivory tusks. Young Yatta's cries attracted the attention of some nearby men, who helped get her to the Wildlife Trust. The good news is that Yatta is one of over 100 orphaned elephants that has been successfully returned to the wild. The Trust has a team who patrols their habitats to keep them safe from poachers.

The herds of ex-orphans are naturally expanding. That's the greatest gift to the human caregivers who raised and released them. You can see the sheer joy of the young calves in this video.

We're glad Yatta and her babies are thriving. Did you think YoYo is super cute? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!