What it Takes to Care for Baby Elephants: Milk!

One of the greatest challenges and essentials in caring for baby elephant orphans is making and providing the correct milk formula to ensure that fast-growing calves receive the correct nutrition.

To keep the orphans healing well, growing strong and roaming energetically, we need to provide them with the energy to do so. When they first arrive at HERD, milk is a key and essential form of sustenance, giving the baby what their mother is not around to provide.

A baby elephant’s milk formulation is exceptionally delicate and needs frequent adjustment, with extra nutritional supplements as they grow, as their mother’s milk would change naturally through the weaning stages and evolving needs.

The gut of a baby elephant is extremely sensitive. When an orphan has diarrhea, it has a ripple effect. It starts by impacting their gut lining, which in turn changes their energy levels and affects their emotional wellbeing. They can move from hero to zero in a short period. Daily records of their feeding and bathroom habits are essential so to monitor whether they are excreting or urinating more than what they take in. Like human babies, they are very fragile and can quickly dehydrate.

Each orphan that enters our care at HERD has his or her own individual needs and a particular milk formula that suits them, and that alters as they grow or go through changes. There is no one size fits all recipe. We consult with Dr Professor Eddie Webb of Pretoria University continuously regarding the orphans’ milk formula and their ever-changing needs.

Read more in our blog:
https://herd.org.za/what-it-takes-to-care-for-baby-elephants-4-milk/