Young elephant calf gets kicked repeatedly by big sister after trying to suckle

This unsettling footage shows Alice Oswald from the ‘Poetics’ herd kicking her hungry little sister away after their mother was apparently killed as a result of human-elephant conflict. The mother’s death, believed to be from a gunshot wound, was one of four tragic events in Northern Kenya that kept our vet and STE team busy over the last two weeks. Two baby elephants (aged 3.5 months and 1.5 years) sadly fell to their deaths in a deep ravine filled with water in the remote Matthew's Ranges. One drowned and the other succumbed to its injuries shortly after it was rescued. Just this week, one of the Butterflies females had to be euthanised after she was found with a broken leg. We believe the injury may have occurred while she was being mated by a bull. Sadly there was nothing the vet team could do to save her. The good news is that Alice’s little sister has been rescued and taken to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and is reported to be doing well. The loss of these elephants in such tragic circumstances and over such a short time is a blow to our team and of course the Samburu elephant population. Footage: David Kuulei / Save the Elephants