In South Luangwa National Park staff from Lion Camp reported a severely injured, lame elephant with a suckling calf. They monitored the elephant until the Department of National Parks & Wildlife and Conservation South Luangwa teams could assess her. They found she had a fatal gunshot wound, almost certainly inflicted by ivory poachers. She was in very poor condition, with her milk already starting to dry up, and would not survive. The calf was at her side, trying to suckle frequently in order to get the nutrition he desperately needed.

A heart rendering decision had to be made, to euthanise her and save the calf. After waking from sedatives, the young calf quickly got to his feet, stretched and started running around the enclosure.

He was clearly distressed and disoriented. Having losthis mother, he charged the fence and took some time tocalm. His reaction was unsurprising, considering theheartbreak and trauma he had just been through. As amilk–dependant youngster he would have not strayedfar from his mother’s side throughout his life and thebond between mother and calf is incredibly intense andfilled with emotion, much like our own.