By the time the Mobile Veterinary Unit located the elephant and its calf, the mother was in a pathetic and horrific state of collapse, able only to move her front legs and trunk, her baby clinging to her in a state of sheer terror and confusion. Dr. Dominic Mijele immobilised the mother to assess the cause of her suffering and found that an injury had shattered her femur, it caused nerve damage so severe that she was left paralysed, with no hope of recovery or survival, and it is assumed that the injury was caused by a bullet wound, but that could not be confirmed.

Back in Nairobi, we were alerted to the need to rescue the young calf and so a plane was chartered to carry a team of our Keepers to Olkiombo airstrip, where Dr. Domnic Mijele and KWS Rangers awaited their arrival. From the airstrip they were then driven to the ailing mother and her terrified baby some 20 kilometres away so that their expertise could ensure a smooth capture of the calf. It was a heart-wrenching scene that greeted them, the mother attempting to protect the terrified baby who was clinging to her and climbing on her in an attempt to evade a hated enemy responsible for the suffering of her adored mother. There were no dry eyes that day as the Keepers moved in to try to capture the baby once the mother was darted to immobilise her and prevent her flailing trunk from injuring the men, and to minimise any further stress.

The calf was still strong at approximately 1 year old; also quite capable of injuring a man, so the keepers needed the assistance of the KWS Rangers. Once the baby was loaded and on its way to the waiting plane, the vet euthanised the mother, thus ending her unbearable suffering.