It could have been torn off by a crocodile as it drank from a watering hole or the baby could have been attacked by a lion. A visitor to the Kruger National Park came across the animal and posted the footage. He is seen saying: ‘A baby elephant without a trunk? Poor thing. This is unreal, I have never seen anything like this. ‘I don’t think it is going to make it.’
A trunk is crucial to an elephant’s survival as it is used for eating, drinking, communicating and sensing danger through smell. The trunk is a fusion of the upper lip and nose and filled with more than 100,000 muscles. It is used to rip food from trees while an elephant will use the trunk to suck up water and then blow it into its mouth. Elephants have one of the best sense of smells in all animals and can detect water 12 miles away. They can also sniff out danger such as approaching predators and storms.
Elephants also communicate through their trunks as they make noises by changing the size and shape of their nostrils. Losing a trunk, therefore, is potentially life-threatening to this animal, especially at such a young age. It is unclear if the animal can be helped by Safari workers who can intervene if they are worried about an animal in their care. It could be removed and placed in a sanctuary away from harm. In 2016, an elephant calf called Mosha was fitted with a prosthetic limb after she stepped on a landmine on the Thai and Myanmar border.
FOLLOW US!
