In a touching display, an orphaned baby elephant, Chabakeaw, sought comfort from her human caretaker after being rejected by her herd following an attempted reintroduction into the wild.
The two-year-old elephant was initially found alone and stuck in mud in Bueng Kan, northeastern Thailand, on April 4th and subsequently rescued by wildlife officers.
After five months of attentive care and rehabilitation, the wildlife department decided to release Chabakeaw into her original herd on September 18th.
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Unfortunately, two days later, she was found abandoned a mile from the release site and taken back into care.
A heartwarming video captured last Friday shows Chabakeaw curling up in the lap of her human caregiver for a nap, clearly feeling safe and secure in their embrace.
Pichet Noonto, một chuyên gia về voi từ Ủy ban Bảo tồn Loài của IUCN, giải thích rằng thời gian dài Chabakeaw sống cùng con người có thể đã cản trở khả năng tái hòa nhập vào môi trường hoang dã của nó.
“We believe the herd leader did not accept her due to her being raised by humans for over five months,” Noonto said.
“She would have had difficulty adapting to the wild elephant behavior and been pushed away.”
Trong khi những người chăm sóc Chabakeaw đang lên kế hoạch cho tương lai của cô ấy, một nỗ lực khác để đưa cô ấy trở lại tự nhiên có thể không khả thi.
Watch the video below:
