Wendi
Wendi, whose name means "hope" in the Meru dialect, was less than a week old when she was found alone in a swamp in the Imenti Forest in Meru, Kenya. Her family had most likely been driven off by human disturbance.
She arrived at the Nairobi nursery with her umbilical cord still attached and the soft, black hair of a newborn. It was clear that she had never suckled, and so never received her mother's first milk, which contains the antibodies and minerals necessary to survive in the world. Nursery staff drew blood from a larger elephant, separated the plasma and injected this into the ear vein of the tiny calf to kick-start her immune system.
Over time, Wendi grew up and thrived at the nursery, and her playful and mischievous personality emerged. Unlike the other orphans, she has no memory of her mother and so does not suffer the psychological trauma associated with being abandoned.
In her second year, Wendi became the matriarch of the nursery, with all the other orphans looking up to her.
Now relocated to the Ithumba release site in Tsavo East National Park, Wendi enjoys playing tricks on the other elephants. Her favorite is to sneak off and hide in the bushes, then rustle the vegetation to scare her playmates as they pass.
Foster Wendi with The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. (You are leaving discovery.com for a site not operated by or affiliated with Discovery.)
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