Orphaned Elephant Baby Airlifted To Safety

by ANC Staff and IFAW

An orphaned, two-month old African elephant named Olly received an extremely uplifting Christmas present this year: an airplane ride just for him, courtesy of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and their friends 'The Bateleurs'.

IFAW relocated the lonely little chap to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust based in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya – the most successful elephant refuge in the world - via a special airlift on December 23.

"We're delighted that IFAW is making it possible to give one small victim an opportunity to be rehabilitated and integrated into a herd, safe from the dangers of a possible cull and safe from poachers," said Karen Trendler, founder of Wildcare Africa Trust.

"Olly was found abandoned in a dry river bed near Selebi Pikwe, in northern Botswana," said Jason Bell, Southern African Director of IFAW. "No one knows what happened to its mother or what happened to its herd,"

"However, in much of Africa elephants continue to be under threat from poachers – mostly because ivory continues to be a prized commodity," he explained.

After he was discovered in late October, Olly was taken by the Wildcare Africa Trust and moved to a rehabilitation center, near Pretoria, South Africa, where he was stabilized in preparation for the flight.

"Now that the elephant has been stabilized sufficiently to be moved, it is essential that it have the company of other calves of a similar age and eventually be released into the wild, in a safe and protected environment," said Bell.

The 'Bateleurs', a group of pilots and airplane owners who donate their services to environmental groups, flew Olly from South Africa to Kenya.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.