In Other News: This Photo Of An Elephant Snuggling An Ostrich
The news this week.
For that reason, we’re bringing you this photo of a baby elephant named Jotto cuddled up to an ostrich named Pea.
Pea the ostrich enjoys the company of elephants such as Jotto at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya.
Courtesy of David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Conservationists with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya came across Pea two years ago today, while they were rescuing a different infant elephant. The trust is well-known for its rescue and rehabilitation program for orphaned elephants.
Pea and her brother, Pod, were brought back to its Nairobi nursery to be raised as part of the elephant herd. Pod eventually struck out on his own, but Pea has remained. According to the trust:
“Pea obviously felt totally ‘at home’ amongst the orphaned elephants, allowing them to suckle her thighs, lying down in the soft earth pile with them when they enjoyed dusting their wet bodies after the mudbath.”
Her caregivers believe that the ostrich has “imprinted” with the elephant herd. And, so, she passes her days playing with her elephant friends.
#TBT, October 2014 (top) and today: Two years ago, Pea and Pod joined our herd! Our teams have learned to expect the unexpected whenever they’re called to an orphan rescue mission. So no one was wholly surprised when they flew into Laikipia to help a baby elephant and came home with a pair of newly hatched ostrich chicks in tow! Although these two “peas in a pod” had been abandoned by their parents, they settled in seamlessly among their new family at the #DSWT. Pod, who was always the more independent of the two, recently heard the call of the wild and chose to leave the Nursery. Pea, meanwhile, still feels very much at home with her adopted family. The baby elephants in particular flock to her, snuggling up to take naps with her and suckling her legs and feathers. Learn more about these special members of the DSWT family at: ?thedswt.org/peaandpod? • • • Photo © David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
A photo posted by David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (@dswt) on Oct 6, 2016 at 11:24am PDT