Rewilding the orphaned elephants
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 19 December 2023
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a remote corner of Northern Kenya, former Samburu warriors continue to rescue orphaned and abandoned baby elephants, even as drought has put on hold plans to release them back into the wild. Traditionally Samburu warriors are not only charged with protecting their community, but with caring for their livestock. Now they have turned their attention to raising elephants. At Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, they rescue baby elephants that have been injured, orphaned or abandoned. They look after them, rehabilitate them and release them back to the wild. It is transforming the way local communities relate to elephants, in a way that benefits both humans and animals. But drought has meant their rewilding programme has been put on hold until the rains come.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All episodes of My Indian Life, seasons one to three, are available to binge in full right now. |
| 0:07.0 | That's Kalki presents My Indian Life from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.0 | Just search for My Indian Life life wherever you found this podcast. |
| 0:16.0 | So where we are basically is dry riverbed and from what I can see my perception is that there hasn't been water flowing across this riverbed in quite a while. I mean it's very dry. |
| 0:28.0 | There's cattle, goats, camels as well. |
| 0:32.0 | And I can hear some people singing and I also see some women standing |
| 0:37.2 | on the edge of these large holes that have been dug on the riverbed and they |
| 0:41.8 | seem to be getting water from inside these large holes. |
| 0:45.0 | Gosh this is a huge hole very deep looks at 12. 12 meters. |
| 0:51.0 | So the water is about 12 meters. So the water is about 12 meters below the surface. Yeah, they've dug 12 meters to reach the water. |
| 1:00.0 | They used during the day, giving their livestock drinking water, and at night, this is where the elephants came and look for drinking water. |
| 1:08.0 | And this is where the babies lose their footing, drop inside the wells. |
| 1:12.0 | And most of the rescue at Retreaty |
| 1:14.7 | Elephant Sanctuary as a result of falling in the wells here now where we are. |
| 1:19.3 | So at night you say elephants will come trying to drink water from these wells and |
| 1:24.0 | the little elephants small elephants will fall in and then the team from Rheti |
| 1:29.1 | then have to come and rescue them. |
| 1:30.4 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 1:34.4 | I'm Michael Kalloki and you're listening to rewilding the orphaned elephants. |
| 1:39.6 | I'm in a remote part of Northern Kenya. |
| 1:41.8 | Three years after I first came here to meet the baby |
| 1:44.6 | orphaned elephants being cared for by former Samburu warriors. Now as the region |
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