Sick Baby Elephant Cast Out By His Herd Gives Up On Life, But Then He Meets A Dog

Sep 18, 2019

A wee elephant faces a life-threatening infection. His herd rejected him due to his extreme illness. Then a miracle happened.

Ellie, the baby elephant, didn't have good odds when he arrived at the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage in South Africa. He was critically ill and his herd had abandoned him. Could he recover and could he ever become a healthy elephant without a herd?

The baby elephant was ill because of a large abscess near his umbilical stem. Instead of closing and healing over like most umbilical stems, it had become infected. Without immediate treatment, the bacteria had entered his blood stream, causing septicemia.

As soon as the calf arrived, his caregivers worked around the clock to save his life. They discovered that, not only did he have a serious infection, he was also intolerant of milk. This made the situation even more dire.

How could they feed this little elephant enough nutrients to keep him alive and to help him fight off this life-threatening illness?The good news is that they succeeded. Ellie pulled through and started to get better.

That's when the staff faced their next challenge. Elephants are very social creatures, growing up and living in family herds. Ellie would need this social activity to survive. Enter a German Shepherd named Duma. The staff decided to introduce Duma to Ellie. It's just what the doctor ordered! Duma gave Ellie someone to socialize with. Life got a lot better for this little calf.

See the story of Ellie and Duma in the video below:

Let us know your thoughts on Ellie's recovery and his friendship with Duma. Let others see this special friendship for themselves by passing this article along to them.