Kenya is Baby Elephant Country

Kenya is home to about 30,000 elephants, so I feel fortunate to live in this baby elephant country par excellence. So I can confirm, from personal experience, that Kenya is a great place to see, touch and learn about baby elephants. First, some elephant facts...

Fascinating Elephant Facts

Birth

An elephant baby, called a calf, is born after 22 months' gestation. And, because elephant herds are closely knit family units consisting of a number of related females led by a matriarch, the other cows often gather to witness the birth and welcome the newborn.

Within moments of the birth, the females in the herd trumpet, rumble and cry. The mother then nudges the baby elephant to its feet with her trunk. This is a critical incident as it is only in this posture that the newborn can access the mother's life-giving milk.

At birth, newborns weigh an unbelievable 75 to 120 kg which is nevertheless only about one-fiftieth of an adult male elephant's weight.

A baby elephant's brain is about a third of the size of an adult's. Scientists contend that it is this underdeveloped nature of the brain that enables the little calves to be gradually integrated into the rich elephant culture.

Feeding

Newborns consume 10-15 liters of milk everyday. An infant calf is completely dependent on its mother's milk for the first 2 years of its life. It may however continue to breastfeed for another 8 years or until the birth of a new sibling.

Male Vs. Female Baby Elephants

There are noticeable differences between the feeding habits of male and female calves...

Whereas male calves suckle more frequently than their female counterparts, they are weaned a lot earlier.

Female infants however, enjoy a much longer and abounding breastfeeding and post-weaning relationship with their mothers. This is evident through the close proximity and frequent interactions between elephant cow and calf...

This is probably because a female elephant stays with the family unit of her birth her whole life. Male calves, on the other hand, stay with the herd until they attain puberty at between 9 and 15 years old when the young bulls, of their own volition, wander off to live independent of their original family units.

There are also noticeable differences during playtime. Older juvenile males tend to venture out and to play with same-sex peers from "stranger" families. Females, on the other hand, play with only familiar calves of all ages and both sexes but in the vicinity of the family herd.

Trunks and Teeth

Baby elephants, like human beings, are completely helpless at birth and must for instance, be taught how to use their trunks. Trunks are used to breathe, lift food to the elephants' mouths and to knock down trees.

Elephants have four "conventional" teeth called molars. These teeth, which resemble little corn kernels, start growing when an infant elephant is about 2 months old. In its lifetime, an elephant grows six sets of teeth.

Interestingly, unlike human milk teeth which are pushed out by the adult teeth growing underneath, each set of elephant teeth is pushed out from the back.

Tusks

Unlike the Asian elephant species where only the males have tusks, both male and female African elephants have tusks. These begin growing when an elephant is 6 months old.

Elephants use tusks - which are for all intents and purposes incisor teeth - to strip bark off trees, to dig for water and to ward off enemies.

Elephant tusks continue growing throughout an elephant's lifetime. They grow about 18 cm (7 inches) annually although it is rare to see an elephant with long tusks because these break or wear down.

Free-Ranging Baby Elephants in Kenya

The best places in Kenya (and the world!) to see elephant calves in their natural setting are Amboseli National Park and the Tsavo National Parks which are the world's pre-eminent elephant sanctuaries.

In Amboseli as well as the Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks, you are guaranteed to see scores of baby elephants gracefully ambling by in the company of their mothers, aunts or siblings.

You will also see lots of them in the inimitable Masai Mara as well as Samburu, Aberdare and Tsavo.

Poaching and Baby Elephants

Thanks to the ban in ivory trading which was in place for 2 decades until it was partially lifted in 2008, Kenya's elephant population increased from 16,000 in 1989 to 30,000 in 2007. However, on account of poaching, it is still endangered.

Poaching is particularly detrimental to elephant calves because these are totally dependent on their mothers for milk and social interactions the first 4 years of their lives...

So orphaned elephant calves inevitably suffer from malnutrition, loneliness and trauma (many are inconsolable) and they are vulnerable to infection.

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Orphaned elephants are given their best shot at life at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi. Indeed, over 60 infant elephants which would have perished have been successfully cared for so far.

Here, these adorable creatures are hand-reared and prepared for eventual reintroduction into the wild in the expansive Tsavo National Park in south eastern Kenya.

So, if you want to see little elephants up close and hear their personal heart-rending stories, be sure to visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. My family and I visit often to follow the progress of these delicate creatures.

Opportunities to Adopt an Elephant

You can also donate to this worthy cause and even adopt an elephant calf for US$ 50 or more per year...

Rearing an infant elephant is an expensive and long-term commitment as calves, which are brought into the orphanage when they are only a few months old, are only re-integrated into the wild when they reach about age 10. Every orphaned baby elephant therefore needs all the help it can get.

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