Bawa - A little miracle

When little Bawa came to us, he was hovering between life and death. He was at most two-weeks-old. He had been stuck and submerged in the mud near Maralal for a long time. He was emaciated, dehydrated and scared. His eyes were burnt from staring up at the sun for 12 hours and his skin was peeling. He had swallowed a terrible amount of mud and was so very, very sick.

The veterinarian who had examined Bawa at arrival told us we had been delivered a dead elephant. Bawa was in such bad shape, the veterinarian did not think recovery was possible.

However, what the doctor wasn’t able to measure in the examination was Bawa’s fighting spirit, which helped him beat the odds and his big character, which has endeared him to all of us here at Reteti, animal and human alike.

Undeterred by the doctor’s appraisal, our dedicated team lept into action to save Bawa. They worked non-stop for 48 hours, never leaving this baby elephant’s side. Bawa was on an IV drip and on oxygen.

It took many weeks of dedicated work and loving care from the amazing staff here at Reteti for Bawa to recover. Even the elephants here joined the effort. Once Bawa was strong enough to begin joining the herd out on walks, Shaba took him under her wing. Bawa was never without Shaba and Shaba was never without Bawa.

We couldn’t be happier or more amazed by his recovery. Today, Bawa is a strong, healthy, big boy of seven months who loves to play with Pokot in the mud hole, where they like to tumble and pile on one another. Little Bawa is a wonderful success story we are so glad to be able to share.