Name: DOLOLO

Date of Birth: March 2017

Age When Rescued: 18 months

Gender: Male

Where Now:  The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Nursery  Nairobi Kenya Africa

Foster This Sweet Elephant

Too Cute For Photos see Dololo’s photo gallery

 

Location of Rescue: “Privately owned land in Mzee Kirema’s Dam on MacKinnon Road .” see area on Fostering map

Elephant Became Orphaned Because of: “stuck in mud”

Situation Surrounding Orphaned Elephant’s Discovery:   If not for the community members discovering the “submerged baby elephant” little Dololo most likely would not have lived. The orphaned calf had somehow gotten himself stuck out far enough into a dam (used for watering local livestock) that neither his elephant herd nor the people of the community dared to navigate the “treacherous conditions” to pull the exhausted little elephant out.

How long Dololo struggled in the muddy water is not known. But he was found prone in the dam all but covered in the filthy water; “with only his trunk raised for breath”.

 

Insights into Orphan’s Elephant Herd:  Dololo’s elephant herd, “sensing the dangers and the desperation of the situation”  and their proximity to a village of humans,  wasted no time in leaving the area and their vulnerable elephant calf behind.

Condition of Orphaned Elephant When Rescued: Dololo was in a “desperate” situation. As his mouth was underwater ingesting polluted waters throughout the night the orphaned elephant’s life was in jeopardy. Almost all of his but the tip of his trunk was submerged .

Once they had pulled the baby elephant from the pungent waters of the dam, KWS Rangers (who rescued Dololo), noted his inability to stand. Overcome by exhaustion Dololo remained in a “recumbent” position until he was stabilized by (DSWT funded, Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit, top KWS Vet) Dr. Poghon for transport.

 

Transported Via:  Dololo was first driven in a KWS Land Cruiser to their nearby campgrounds. Soon thereafter the DSWT Helicopter, piloted by Andy Payne, transported the weakened baby elephant (a 1 hour & 30 minute flight) to the DSWT intensive care unit as Dololo was quite sick. The DSWT “aerial team” (this flight consisting of one Keeper) attended to Dololo onboard.  Keeper Kingoo comforted Dololo and gave him continuous IV drips.

The sickly little elephant was only able to respond through his eyes and “a quivering trunk”. But thank Keeper Kingoo, he did.

 

 

Upon Arrival at the DSWT Nursery:  Dololo was welcomed into his warm and comfortable stable by his new Keeper who, after giving the baby elephant ample time to settle in, and taking special care to “unstrap and unwrap”  him,  helped him up on his feet. Dololo, seeming to innately understand,  “remarkably he stood for the first time since his ordeal” and was docile and appreciative (as only a sweet elephant can be)  of all the help & care he was receiving.

Dololo was bottle fed his first warm elephant milk formula and snacked on “freshly cut greens hanging in his stable”.  His Keeper reported that  Dololo was able to stand throughout the night and took to his “three hourly milk bottle” feedings well, again supplemented  by more fresh foliage greens.

 

What Makes This Sweet Elephant Unique: How many orphaned baby elephants does one know who could survive (tip of his trunk periscoped out of “foul water”) an ordeal like this? Little Dololo is a survivor.

Ongoing Medical Treatment:  Under “foul water” for so long Dololo’s eyes need special attention on a daily basis. As the baby elephant’s lungs also took in the “foul water”  his pneumonia risk was, & remains, high, therefore a “long course of antibiotics” was prescribed.  Dololo’s continual weakness was exacerbated by “a good infestation of worms” ( he was” riddled in parasites” ) that DSWT believes to have been present in Dololo even before he became “stuck in the mud” of the polluted waters of the dam.  Having completed the “deworming regime” the elephant calf gained a good amount of his strength back.

 

Baby Elephant’s Personality Traits: “Gentle bull”

Baby Elephant’s New Friends:  new and less rambunctious elephant orphans LUGGARD & MERRU became his instant friends. Learn recent sad news about baby elephant MERRU

 

For Complete Story see Dololo’s Orphan Profile . Also: Any of the quotes not linked in this profile were sourced from there.

ADOPT DOLOLO

His Keeper’s Diary includes updates on Dololo and his other sweet elephant friends

 

Watch YouTube VIDEO: “Dololo’s Rescue”  

Credit: public domain drawing of baby elephant

 

To learn more about The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s ( DSWT ) Fostering Program and how to Adopt Dololo click here then “select an orphan” Dololo

Note: At The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust you may “foster your orphan” from 1 year to up to 10 years! And before you submit your donation you “may select a few more orphans to foster” at the same time (for those of us who cannot decide!)

The orphaned elephants at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust are “reliant on your kind support” and, as always, the future of our elephants is in our hands.

 

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