More Good News for Lewa Elephant

The Vegetable Family has another new arrival.  Celery has had a baby girl!

When we saw Celery several weeks ago, we noticed that she had engorged breasts.  Given that she did not have a calf, we were fairly certain that she must be pregnant.  Little did we know that in just two weeks, she would be giving

Celery and her new baby girl -- just a few days old

birth.  Like the matriarch of the family, Artichoke, Celery returned to our river bed to have her baby (blog 14).  But, unlike when Artichoke gave birth, the rest of the family was not there to lend support.

A few days later, Celery was reunited with her family

When we met up with Celery, again, a few days later, she had wandered a few kilometers from the house but was still on her own with only the new calf and the two young boys that she “adopted” when Garbanza died.  Knowing that she had lost her previous calf when it was only a few weeks old, I was quite concerned to find her still wandering on her own.  But, much to my relief, the next time we saw Celery, she was reunited with her family with a healthy looking baby in tow.  The first few months of a baby elephant’s life are the most tenuous, but we are hopeful that this time Celery’s baby will survive.

We recently came upon Alabama (whose story was featured in blog 10) for the first time in quite a while.  She, too, has a brand new baby!  Unlike Celery, Alabama is a very experienced mother who has managed to raise two calves – Mississippi and California – on her own after the death of the family matriarch caused her family to splinter.

It's A Girl

Late in the afternoon on 4 October, a tremendous commotion was heard below our house – elephant continuously trumpeting and rumbling.  Clearly, something was amiss; so, we quickly went down to investigate.

When we arrived, we immediately saw the cause for all of the excitement. 

The newest addition to the Vegetable family -- only one hour old

The Vegetable family was celebrating the birth of the newest addition to the family.  Artichoke had just given birth to a baby girl!  The tiny calf was still wet and very wobbly; the afterbirth was hanging on a nearby clump of grass.  Artichoke remained amazingly calm despite our presence, and we watched in awe as she used her trunk to help her newborn find the teat and take her first suckle. 

Artichoke had given birth in the riverbed below our house, where several times a week we put out salt as well as grass covered with molasses.  The elephant come on a regular basis to enjoy a “snack” along with fresh water – often followed by a mud bath.  Artichoke, the matriarch and decision maker of the Vegetable family, chose to remain in the riverbed for another 5 days, giving her new baby time to build its strength before leading the family out onto Lewa.  Spinach, Artichoke’s older daughter, was very protective and attentive. 

Spinach allows her new baby sister to suckle, although
she has no milk, as preparation for motherhood

She will help to care for her new sibling, as this is how young female elephant prepare for motherhood.  In fact, the following week, we even saw Spinach attempting to suckle her new baby sister. 

While we were sitting with the family, I noticed that Celery had very large, engorged breasts.  If she was nursing, this would not have been very telltale, but since she has no calves, this could only mean one thing – Celery is pregnant, as well!

There are those who would disagree, but I have no doubt that Artichoke came to the house to give birth, knowing that here she was sure to find food, water and, most importantly, safety and security.

Cello's Story - The Final Chapter

Cello the day after her first treatment

April 18^th in northern Kenya.  She made her way back to Lewa and was treated twice for an infection resulting from the gunshot wound.

Following her second treatment on May 1^st, Cello appeared to be improving.  But, shortly thereafter, she began to deteriorate.  We knew that immobilizing her a third time was not an option, so we decided on a somewhat unorthodox, last ditch attempt to stave off the infection – we followed her with a vehicle and shot auto-inject darts full of antibiotics into her wounded leg.  However, it soon became apparent that Cello suffered from a bone infection that would be almost impossible to combat.

On June 20^th, Cello lost her fight for life.  Despite our best efforts, we were not able to stem the infection that ravaged her body.  Saturday afternoon she laid down for the final time.  Sometime during the night, she died -- in anguish and without the family with whom she had spent her entire life.

Emaciated and exhausted, Cello rests her trunk on the tree

As matriarch, Cello had kept her family safe for over two decades, leading them to water in times of drought and bringing them to safe havens such as Lewa. Cello’s family did not come to Lewa with her – most likely they scattered in terror when the bullets were fired.  Her four-month-old calf most certainly died, too young to have survived without her mother.  The whereabouts of Cello’s family was unknown.

In March of the following year, Bassoon was also shot and wounded in the leg.  She, too, made her way back to Lewa and, once again, we darted and treated the injured elephant  -- her three-year-old calf stood vigil.  Happily, in this case there was no damage to the bone, and Bassoon made a full recovery.
 

On June 20th, Cello laid down for the final time

Since then, some members of the Instrument Family have reunited while others have joined different families and are sometimes seen on Lewa.  Harp, Bassoon and Piccolo are often together and, from time to time, Violin joins them.  But, unlike the Vegetable Family that faced a similar tragedy (see Blog  3), the Instruments have never fully recovered from the loss of their matriarch.