Touching Story Of A Baby Elephant That Was Abandoned By Its Herd And Found An Unlikely Friend

Touching story of a baby elephant that was abandoned by its herd and found an unlikely friend. It is omnipresent in children's movies and in cartoons that animals are talking to each other, striking up highly unlikely friendships and rivalries, which wouldn't be possible in real life. They even interact with humans, which is quite thrilling to watch. But friendships can sometimes sprout up in the unlikeliest of places. There's an example of one such friendship that proves that anyone indeed can get along with anyone. The story of Ellie the Elephant is sure to warm anyone's heart. Ubuntu, an adorable baby elephant, was rejected by its herd. Ubuntu, whom rescue staff later nicknamed Ellie, was touching case for when elephants are rejected by their own herds. The effect of such spurning can have both psychological and physical effects. When Ellie was discovered by the staff at the Fundam Vela Thulathula Rhino Orphanage, or FTTRO, they tried to help him reunite with his family several times, but ultimately had no luck. They also came to the realization that Ellie was extremely sick during this time. When we realized he actually had a huge umbilical hernia and abscess, which means the entire umbilical or belly button, the area was open and very infected, Karen Trendler, a rehabilitation and crisis response expert at FTTRO, explained. And she continued, that's a direct connection to blood supply. In 99% of cases, an umbilical abscess of that nature is fatal. This is normally a huge threat to the life of the mother elephant and can cause serious damages to the way the baby elephant functions. However, the staff at FTTRO weren't ready to give up on little Ellie no matter what. They even went out of their way so far, they concocted for him his very own homemade formula when he displayed an allergy to every other kind. Ellie's wounds weren't just on the surface, though. He suffered as much from a psychological shock from his illness and being rejected from his herd as his physical injuries. We as humans are social beings and being rejected by our own society is unbearable for us, so for an elephant that travels in a herd, it must be extremely difficult. Wildlife Trust explained to the Daily Mail, to be rejected at birth causes an elephant extreme psychological distress. Elephants find it extremely important to be part of a family group and require intimacy, company, and comfort to be stable. They go on to explain that these types of traumatic experiences can have even physical signs in rejected calves. It can manifest itself in a physical form such as diarrhea, which can be deadly to a fragile newborn calf. Karen Trendler elaborates, adding, The calf elephant was here. He was particularly weak, particularly ill. He wasn't so much interested in doing anything. He was very lethargic and disinterested. This comes as no surprise because of all the emotional and physical stress he had to go through. However, that all changed when the staff at FTTRO introduced Ellie to an unlikely pal, a retired service dog named Duma. They were equally intrigued and fascinated by their differences, yet always remembered to remain cordial. They soon became friendly with one another. Karen Trendler says, We introduced Duma and the elephant at the sand pile and it immediately cleared the elephant up and the two of them started interacting. It was an incredible sight to see as the bond was so unexpected on both sides. It also had a massive impact on the elephant in that he suddenly started getting a little bit of interest in life again, Karen went on. For the people that had witnessed the struggle of this elephant, seeing him become more active was absolutely amazing. It was a heartwarming development to say the least. The unlikely pair grew incredibly fond of each other. In fact, the staff actually had a hard time separating the two because they'd become so attached to each other. It was an unbelievable sight to imagine, to see a dog and elephant be so inseparable. But in an incredibly sad turn of events, just as things were looking up for Ellie, her health rapidly declined. No matter how hard he'd tried, Duma's love and friendship were simply not enough to weather the little elephant through the storm. After a five-month battle for his health, the little elephant's condition only kept worsening at an alarming rate and the baby began showing signs of septic shock. It was hard to witness such a development when it was gaining back its will to live and had a friend to make memories with. Soon after, Karen Trendler, on behalf of the Thule Thule Rhino Orphanage, shared a heartbreaking post on the official Facebook page. It was a truly tragic day for the staffers at FTTRO. Karen announced the untimely passing of their beloved Ellie. The post read, He was finally at peace. The message continued, Although Ellie's time on Earth wasn't the longest, she was lucky to have been found and cared for by the FTTRO and to have the friendship of Duma. Both kept him happy here during his limited time and loved for much longer than he would have been otherwise. It is always nice to see people helping animals in need. Let us learn from this story the importance of being a friend for someone. It is always an easier option to ignore him and walk away, but much harder to solve each other's problems. May Ellie's soul rest in peace.