Cello's Story

On April 18, 2009, shots rang out in northern Kenya, and Lewa security received a report that two elephant had been shot.  Cello, one of Lewa’s best-known elephant

Cello in her prime

and matriarch of the “Instrument Family,” was now fighting for her life.  Her family had scattered in terror, and her three-month-old daughter would most certainly die.

Cello walked for eight days with little food or water, making her way back to Lewa where she knew she would be safe.  She was spotted as soon as she arrived and was treated within hours.  A bullet was removed from her right front leg, the wound was cleaned, and she was given massive doses of time-release antibiotics.   Although this treatment is often very effective, there was serious concern because bone fragments were found in the wound.   Over the next few days, Cello was closely monitored and appeared to improve; the infection was subsiding and the swelling was going down. 

Cello's wound was cleaned and long acting
antibiotics were administered

However, within a week, Cello began to deteriorate, and the decision was made to treat her one more time.  We knew there was a good chance that she might not have the strength to get up, but without treatment, she would surely die.  At 3:45, Cello was darted.  Working as quickly as possible, the team cleaned and flushed the wound and, again, injected large doses of long acting antibiotics as well as pain killers.  The "wake up" drug was given and everyone anxiously stood by.  At first, nothing.  Slowly, Cello began struggling to get to her feet, but it soon became apparent that she could not get up on her own.

Ropes were secured to Cello's tusks and a car was positioned
under her haunches to help her get her to her feet

The Lewa team sprang into action and, over the course of the next hour, strategically put ropes and cars in position. The men had to exercise extreme caution while trying to position the ropes around Cello’s tusks because although she did not have the strength to get to her feet, she was now awake and had full use of her potentially lethal trunk.  Once the ropes were in place, one car was angled to pull the ropes, and the other was stationed behind her haunches to help push her to her feet.  After several failed attempts and just when it appeared that Cello no longer had the strength to try again, all of the pieces of the puzzle came together.  The ropes were in place, the vehicles were in position and she began to rock.  At 5:13, Cello was on her feet.

Amazingly, Cello made no effort to charge the vehicles or the men who were on the ground.  On some level, she must have known that despite her fear and trauma, everyone was there to help her.  She had thanked us in her own way.

Cello was alive and over the coming weeks appeared to be improving.  However, her life still hung very much in the balance.

To be continued. . . . . .

Bulls

Let’s talk about bulls.  So far, when explaining elephant behaviour, I have focused primarily on family groups.  Bull behavior, however, is quite different.

Males begin sparring at a very young age

Older bulls spar, as well

Young bulls remain with their families for the first 10 to 13 years, but from the beginning, males will behave differently than their female counterparts.  The first “male only” behaviour that you might come across is something called “sparring.”  As with many species, elephant use playing to help prepare them for adult life.  Since elephant do not hunt, males of all ages and sizes spar in order to prepare to fight for the right to mate when they are mature bulls.  But, it is interesting to note that when you see an older calf sparring with a younger one, he is very gentle and careful not to overpower his little friend.

A mock charge from a young member
of the Flower family

If you are on safari, you may also experience a mock charge from males – some as young as six months.  Once you understand the behavior, it is quite comical.  The youngsters will almost always wait until you are safely out of range, and then run after the car with a loud trumpet as if to say, “guess I showed you.”   The closer he is to Mum, the better.  You will almost never witness this behaviour in a young female.

When bulls start to mature, they are slowly pushed out of the family.  This is a gradual process and, at first, they will come and go – hesitant to leave the security of their mother.  But, it is mandatory, and mothers will become quite forceful, if necessary. 

A magnificent musth bull -- note the streaming temporal
glands and the hourglass shape of the head

For many years, it was believed that bulls then primarily led solitary lives.  However, in Joyce Poole’s extensive study of bulls in Amboseli, she discovered that they do, in fact, form bonds and friendships and, like us, prefer to hang out with their friends.  In her study, Joyce also discovered that bulls go into a state of sexual arousal known as musth.  During this period, testosterone surges through their system causing a significant change in behaviour.   When bulls are in musth, they become much more aggressive and have only one thing on their mind – mating – and they will travel great distances in search of females in estrus.  Bulls also are most apt to fight when they are in musth, although, in actuality, this is rare.  Because strength is a function of size and bulls grow at the same rate throughout their entire lives, a young bull will almost always defer to his senior.  It is not difficult to recognize when a bull is in musth because his temporal glands are streaming and his penis dribbles a fluid that has a very strong odour.  One must definitely exercise caution when around a musth bull.

Contrary to what one might think, it can be very difficult to differentiate between male and female elephant, particularly the calves.  However, when looking at adults there are two helpful rules of thumb:  first, the under carriage of the bulls tends to slope while that of the females is more of a flat line; and second, the forehead of females is squared off while that of the males tends to be more rounded.  In addition, the older bulls are substantially bigger than adult females, and they develop an hourglass shape to their massive heads.

FOOTNOTE

Into the container for transport
to Kora National Park

Loading the sedated bull onto the
flatbed truck

In blog #10, we talked about detusking elephant in an effort to discourage them from breaking into exclusion zones.  Several of the detusked bulls have continued breaking fences on a regular basis; thus, the decision was made to relocate them.  With the support of Kenya Wildlife Service’s highly skilled team, two of the bulls were successfully moved to Kora National Park on June 4.

Alabama's Story

The sage, old matriarch, Georgia

When I first met Alabama in 2005, she was a young adult leading a seemingly happy and secure life under the watchful eye of Georgia, a sage, old matriarch.  Her family, known as the States, was quite small with only one other sub-adult female, named Virginia. The family visited Lewa on a random basis, disappearing for months at a time.  But, upon their return, it was always easy to spot Alabama because she has very unusual tusks that curl under her trunk; in fact, at first glance, she can easily be mistaken for tuskless.

At first glance, Alabama appears tuskless

Alabama's tusks curl under her trunk

In 2006, Alabama gave birth to a calf, presumably her first baby -- a female that we named California.  Alabama appeared to be a very good mother, and young California made it through her precarious first year.   Approximately, 15% of calves do not survive the first twelve months, and this number rises to some 50% during a drought.

In February of 2009, the States returned to Lewa.  Georgia was missing, but her six-year-old calf, Arizona, was still with the family – an almost sure sign that Georgia was dead.  Alabama and Virginia – both too young to be heading a family – were bravely carrying on, taking care of Georgia’s young daughter,

Arizona was just six years old when
she lost her mother, Georgia

as well.  Alabama’s life became even more challenging later that year when she gave birth to another baby girl, Mississippi.  By this time, Virginia had disappeared and Alabama was left to care for three young elephants without the guidance of Georgia or the companionship of Virginia.

Arizona helps care for baby Mississippi

Amazingly, the resilient Alabama has managed to keep her little family in tact.  Like Celine, Alabama is often seen in the presence of other families – she seems to favour the Flowers and the Asian Cities.  But, she never stays with any one family for long, and I often find her wandering Lewa on her own with her three young charges in tow.

California and Arizona are now young adults and will soon be having calves of their own.  So, before long, Alabama will become the matriarch of a “proper” elephant family.  A title she truly has earned.

Meet the Flower Family

Agapantha, matriarch of the Flower family

The Flower family is one of Lewa’s most frequently seen families because, like tourists, they spend a great deal of their time around the swamp.   The matriarch of the family is Agapantha -- a big, old girl with very distinctive, large tusks.   The Flowers are also the largest elephant family found here on the conservancy.

Tulip, a gnarly, old one-tusker

When food is not abundant, a large elephant family often will split into smaller factions.  This makes it easier for everyone in the family to consume the enormous amount of food required on a daily basis.  Such is the case with the Flower family; the splinter group – referred to as Flowers II – is headed by Tulip, a rather gnarly, old one-tusker.  

Agapantha and Bougainvillea joyfully greet one another
Notice the temporal glands streaming down the side of their faces

Although they often do go their separate ways, there is a strong bond amongst family members, and when they come together after long separations, there is a joyous greeting.  Much trumpeting and running around ensues.  Temporal glands are streaming from excitement and trunks are intertwined as tokens of affection.

The Flower family crossing the plains with Agapantha leading
the way and Pansy in the rear

While Daisy and Pansy almost always stay with Agapantha who rarely leaves Lewa, Bougainvillea tends to follow the more adventurous Tulip, who likes to head out to the north on a regular basis. Although the boundary of Lewa is fenced in order to ensure that the rhino do not leave the secure area, there is a “rhino proof” gap on the northern boundary that allows elephant and other wildlife to wander outside of the conservancy.  This opening in the fence has been fitted with a camera that is triggered by the breaking of a laser beam, and Tulip and her entourage are caught “on film” on a regular basis.   Tulip is a wise, old girl and is often photographed leaving Lewa just as the sun sets (and herdsmen will have returned home) and coming back through the gap just as the sun is rising.  But, from time to time, she does lead her family up north where they are at risk of being shot or speared by poachers.  Thus, I always breathe a sigh of relief when I see that Tulip is back on Lewa.

Baby elephant love to play with their friends

The Flower family is very prolific.  Tulip, Agapantha and Pansy all gave birth to calves in 2009.  Daisy gave birth in 2010, and Bougainvillea followed suit the following year.  In early 2012, Agapantha gave birth to yet another baby – a little girl named Amaryllis.  Many of the younger females, including Bergenia, Impatiens, Frangipani, Geranium, Jonquil, Lilac, and Snapdragon have all produced calves in the past few years. 

So, if you are lucky enough to visit Lewa in the coming years, I hope you are able to spend some time watching the newest members of the Flower family playing in the Lewa swamp under the watchful eye of their mothers.