Lyndal Davies, an Australian filmmaker now resident at Shamwari Game Reserve, has become "mom" to an orphaned baby male elephant called Themba.
She and the Dubai World Shamwari Conservation veterinary team headed by Dr Johan Joubert first met Themba at the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Western Cape, where his mother had died after falling from a cliff.
At six months, little Themba was an orphan.
For seven days Davies and the wildlife team monitored Themba's progress, hoping that he would be adopted by one of the other cows who would allow him to suckle. Baby elephants need milk for the first two years of their lives or they will die. Sadly, the orphan was rejected and Themba's distress calls became louder and louder.
The team was faced with a difficult decision; either let nature take its course, and allow this youngster to die a slow cruel death, or intervene and give Themba a second chance.
It was a simple decision for Dr Johan Joubert, who would not stand by and watch an animal suffer.
Joubert says, "We had originally introduced those elephants to the reserve so we had already played a significant role in their future. This made the decision to intervene and help a little elephant that was clearly suffering, an easy one."
At first light the next morning, Themba was darted by the team who quickly transported him to the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation centre in the Eastern Cape, so that Dr Joubert could monitor him 24 hours a day.
When he was released into the Shamwari Animal Hospital, he charged everyone in sight, a natural reaction for a frightened baby elephant.
The first thing Davies had to teach him was the word "no" and show him who was boss. Davies' second and bigger challenge was to get Themba to suckle. This was a struggle and Davies sought the advice of well-known elephant expert Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. After about three days, Themba was slurping up infant formula.
Over the last 25 years, Sheldrick has raised and rehabilitated community orphans of misfortune from many different wild species. The key to her success has been her in-depth knowledge of animal psychology and the behavioural characteristics of different species.
As life at an animal hospital can be lonely for a baby elephant, the next thing the team did was to organise Themba a companion to interact with. Just 24 hours after Themba was rescued he had a new four-legged friend - Albert the sheep.
Recalls Davies: "When we first put Themba and Albert together all hell broke loose. Themba made a dash for the sheep and chased him around his watering hole.
Albert quickly high-tailed it to the other end of the enclosure where we had built a fenced-in safe haven for him. That's where Albert stayed for the first 12 hours.
Themba was very curious and kept coming up and sticking his trunk through the poles, touching Albert on his woolly back and having a good sniff. The next morning Albert was clearly bored and started venturing out into the main enclosure. Within a few hours, Themba wouldn't leave Albert's side and the two were seen exploring their enclosure together, with Themba's trunk resting on Albert's back. Ever since then, Themba and Albert have been inseparable."
Says Joubert: "We chose a sheep to be with Themba because on a previous occasion we found them to be very effective. Some years ago we had a baby rhino we were caring for at Shamwari and we placed a sheep in with the rhino as a companion. They bonded really quickly and the sheep played a large part in ensuring the rhino's well-being."
After 10 days, Themba trusted his new mom Davies enough to be taken for walks in the bush..
She says, "It really is a full-time job looking after Themba - we have a team of five carers, including Albert the sheep."
The team's main objective is to get Themba back into the wild. In two years' time, he should have been weaned off his baby milk, and the team will introduce him to the wild elephants at the Shamwari Game Reserve.
