It was back in 2006, where the staff at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Fund, located in Kenya, rescued a little elephant, left without a mother, starving and barely standing on her feet. The elephant was named  Loijuk. She lived in the reserve for several years, but after she grew up and gained enough strength, she was released into her natural habitat – into the wild.

Years have passed since then, but Loijuk apparently still remembers the kindness of the people who helped her survive. About once a month she used to come to the reserve and visit her caretakers. Last autumn, she came  to the reserve again, with a little elephant next to her.

It was clear that the elephant wanted to share her excitement with people, as it turned out, the baby elephant was born to her just a few hours ago. The mother elephant and her daughter Lily ( this is the name given to her by staff) visited the chief caretaker Benjamin Kialo. Loijuk allowed the man to cuddle the baby.

And although Loijuk left with her baby, she did not leave the territory of the reserve , so the staff could both look after the life of a mother and daughter,  and feed both of them. In the wild, baby elephants are raised by all members of the herd. Previously, Loijuk “nursed” other babies, and now the elephants Nazerian and Itumba, who were also orphans, are raising her baby together with her. Now Loijuk knows that if Lily needs help, the staff of the reserve will not leave her baby in trouble.

An interesting fact about elephants: Elephants have the largest brains amongst all terrestrial animals. Its weight is 5 kilograms. They can be trained and learn up to 60 commands. Elephants are believed to have a wide range of behaviors and skills. Elephants experience sadness, joy, can get bored, help their relatives, and also have some ability to practice music and draw paintings – truly magnificent creatures!

Watch the video about Loijuk below: