If you have a love of animals, you probably are well aware of just how cute any baby animal happens to be. It is more than the fact that they are a miniature of something that we hold so dear, they just seem to be so precious from the moment that we see them. The same is also true of human babies or any young that we see in any part of the world. We don’t have to be the mother or even a part of the family in order to appreciate all that they have to offer.
As much as we appreciate baby animals and even baby humans, it is something that runs in both directions. When animals are tiny, they need some assistance from those who were older. In some cases, they are given the direction that they need to grow and in other cases, they may be protected by those who are older from dangers that they may not even be aware of. The unfortunate reality of youngsters is the fact that sometimes, they are separated from those who care for them for one reason or another.
Dok Geaw is a young elephant who knows that all too well. Even though he is only one year and nine months old, he was completely alone in the wild and had to be rescued by an elephant sanctuary.
He was brought to Elephant Nature Park, that describes themselves as being an “elephant rescue and rehabilitation center in Northern Thailand where you can volunteer and visit to help elephants, dogs, and cats.” They have a number of goals, including helping endangered species, cultural preservation, restoring the rain forest, educating visitors and taking politically independent actions.
Dok had found himself without a mother and he was also injured. Considering the fact that he was out in the wild, it was very dangerous. According to Elephant Nature Park, “during their early years the calf follows the mother everywhere learning invaluable survival lessons from her and the rest of her herd.” If he didn’t have a mother, he would not likely survive.
We can only imagine how frightening this must’ve been for the little elephant. He didn’t know where to look for the things he needed in life and he may have wondered if the older elephants would take him in.
Depression was likely to be a problem for the baby elephant growing up without a mother. When he was brought back to the sanctuary by workers, it seemed as if the other elephants knew what was taking place. They rallied around and did something that nobody was expecting.
The entire herd came over to say hello to the new baby. They ran over to where the new elephant was being kept and showed him some affection.
The baby elephant saw them when they were on their way and he cried out to them. The elephants knew where he was and how to get to him so they rushed up to the container and put their trunks through to reach him.
It almost appeared as if they were petting the baby elephant through the holes in the gate. The baby stuck his trunk back out at them, almost as if he knew what was happening.
It wasn’t long before the new addition to the sanctuary was doing well. He seemed to be happy and loved being surrounded by other elephants.
Although Dok was around others of his kind, he would still have to contend with not having a mother. The matriarch is the natural leader of an elephant pack and according to Elephant Voices, “No individual or individual personality has more impact on family structure and fortunes than the matriarch, or female leader, of an elephant family.”
The baby elephant had a friendship with other elephants but he would still be missing some of what his mother would give to him. Perhaps he would be raised by the entire herd or he may adopt a mother as his own.
Elephants are given guidance by the entire family so the baby may look at the others in the herd for that need too.
You can see more of the greeting in this video: