Written by: Kelly Landen from Elephants Without Borders
A few weeks ago, we featured an article about a young, snared elephant bull that would have been put down were it not for Elephants Without Border’s help. We now have an update (and a nickname) for the bull.
The photos from the snare, wrapped horribly around his leg, showed how deep and painful the wound must have been for the bull. However the young bull is being observed by the people in the valley, who have affectionately nicknamed him “Sedidi”.
Two weeks after the snare removal, Sedidi was walking much better. He had been sighted often and almost gave his guardians a scare when he was sighted lying down, for a full 2 days! The worst was feared, but after a flurry of concerned phone calls it was reported that Sedidi had been struggling in the heat and had to lay down often, but he had actually got back up on a regular basis. There was some concern about his body’s condition and whether or not he was getting enough forage. However, at the time, he was given some time before any decisions of intervention were made. Luckily, mother nature added a little hope, and provided an evening of a few hours of rain followed by a couple of cool days. Sedidi disappeared and it was believed that he went to find food.
Sedidi reappeared and people kept a vigilant eye out on his progress. Photos of Sedidi’s leg were circulated to known wildlife vets and the consensus was that the wound was doing better… but another week later this had changed…
Three weeks into recovery and, although Sedidi’s body is healthy, the wound had gotten worse. Elephants Without Borders attempted to supplement his food with lucerne bales that they had laced with long-acting antibiotics and inflammatory oral powder. However after a few unsuccessful days of trying to lure him into eating the lucerne Sedidi had to be immobilised again. The wound was cleaned and hefty doses of anti-biotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and vitamins were administered. The wound did seem to be healing well, with just a minor infection on the surface. The team is optimistic about his recovery.
With just a fews weeks to go until the rains bring sprouting vegetation, this is the last, vital push for Sedidi. The new vegetation will mean he will not need to walk much of a distance to get food, and, literally, take the weight off his healing leg…
Elephants Without Borders would like to thank the management team; Lou and Lulu Barnard at Senyanti Safari Campsites, Iris Barz for her continual monitoring photos, Mike Holding, Ian McMillan (Mike MCMillan Nature Fund), Sue Slogrove, the Botswana Dept of Wildlife & National Parks, Clive Millar for the original call, Guts from Pangolin for “phone watch” and the campers who eagerly rushed in to grab buckets of fresh water to help clean the wound!
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