Nurith NupurIt is omnipresent in children’s movies and in cartoons that animals are talking to each other, striking up highly unlikely friendships and rivalries, which would not be possible in real life. They even interact with humans, which is quite thrilling to watch.
The amazing story
But friendships can sometimes sprout up in the unlikeliest of places. Here is an example of one such friendship that proves that anyone indeed can get along with everyone. The story of Ellie the elephant is sure to warm anyone’s heart!
Ubuntu “Ellie”, the elephant
Ubuntu, an adorable baby elephant was rejected by his herd. Ubuntu, whom rescue staff later nicknamed “Ellie” was a touching case for when elephants are rejected by their own herds. The effect of such spurning can have both psychological and physical effects.
How he was found
When Ubuntu was discovered by the staff at the Fundimvela Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage (FTTRO), they tried to help him reunite with his family several times. But ultimately, they had no luck. They also came to the realization that Ellie was extremely sick during this time.
A distressing situation
“We realized he actually had a huge umbilical hernia and abscess, which means the entire umbilical, or belly button, the area was open and was very infected”, Karen Trendler, a rehabilitation and crisis response expert at FTTRO, explained.
The fatal abscess
“And,” she continued, “That’s a direct connection to the 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.
Not going to give up
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 of formula they had access to.