A charter jet recently transported an unusual cargo in its hold – a baby elephant named Bupe. The ten-month-old elephant had been abandoned by its mother for five days in the wilderness, but was rescued by a conservation group. The determined calf survived by staying close to water during the day and hiding in the bushes away from predators at night.
Bupe was airlifted to safety in a trailer and taken to the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust nursery in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. The flight to the nursery took nearly two hours, and there was a collaborative effort to offload the 350kg elephant at Kaindu airstrip.
The conservation group’s goal is to nurse Bupe back to health and integrate him into an adopted elephant herd, with the intention of eventually releasing him back into the wild. Game Rangers International is encouraging people to sponsor elephants like Bupe to support their life-saving work.