Recently, a family in the Yunnan region of Southwest Cʜɪɴᴀ received a most unusual visitor. An injured baby elephant fled into a villager’s bedroom after separating from the herd. The Yunnan settlement of Ba Ka has frequently been visited by wild elephants. Only eight homes in this town, which is located more than 3,000 meters above the slope, grow rubber plants.
Tie Wen, one of the residents, was awakened by her daughter’s screams. When he entered her bedroom, he saw that a baby elephant had barged in. With a few of his neighbors’ assistance, he was able to drive the elephant outside before dialing the ᴘᴏʟɪᴄᴇ.
But even when it was outside the house, the young elephant didn’t appear to want to go. She looked to be looking for food instead as she hovered near to the habitation wall. Tie Wen’s next-door neighbor Luo Kaidong decided to give the baby elephant some milk. Since then, the calf has followed him everywhere.
The local forest ᴘᴏʟɪᴄᴇ reported that the female elephant was about a month old and weighed 100 kg. Her 2.5 inch long wound on her left hind leg was beginning to heal. However, her umbilical cord appeared to be ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇd. After being ʜᴜʀᴛ, the baby might have gotten ʟᴏsᴛ or been ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋed by livestock.
She was given medical attention for her wounds, and the villagers later built her a makeshift home. They worry that if they approach the elephant too ᴄʟᴏsᴇly, the mother may return and wreck havoc in the community. But she began to cry as Lup Kaidong left the baby. She then left her makeshift residence and started chasing Luo Kaidong.
Since then, the group has found a good balance between trying to keep the calf alive with milk and keeping a safe distance in case the rest of the herd poses a ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛ. Currently, the calf is being cared after by veterinarians at the Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley.
