Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett

Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column

There’s a herd of elephants gathering at Marble Arch. Each of them has a name and a unique story explaining how they come to be there.

One of them, Sattao, was found on March 18, 2017 after the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) received reports of an orphaned baby elephant wandering alone in Tsavo East.

After a search, the KWS and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) located the elephant and Sattao was flown to the elephant orphanage in Nairobi (in case you’re wondering, it takes 11 people to lift a baby elephant into a plane).

He was very thin and had predator bites on his back. There had been poaching in the area and it’s thought that Sattao’s mother was one of the victims. What happens in such situations is that the calf remains with the herd, but as it loses strength due to lack of milk, it can’t keep up.

Created by artists Gillie and Marc, Sattao is part of a sculptural exhibit opened this week, at Marble Arch, called “The Orphans” featuring 21 life-size bronze elephants. Each orphan represents a real elephant currently in the care of SWT.

This is the largest such sculpture of an elephant herd in the world and highlights the plight of the species - with current trends, wild African elephants won’t exist by 2040.

You can see more about the elephant orphanage including footage of Sattao’s rescue at sheldrickwildlifetrust.org. The sculptures will be at Marble Arch for 1 year.

Sattao’s Mum is not the only Mum who needed help in order to ensure that, in the face of adversity, their offspring is given the chance of a happy life.

Similar to Sattao, Kirrin was reported to an animal welfare charity as being in need of help. She was spotted in the street, heavily pregnant with nowhere to go. Hounslow Animal Welfare Society came to her aid and, shortly afterwards, Kirrin gave birth to 5 kittens at a vets.

After the kittens were weaned, Kirrin moved to her current foster home on October 9. At only I year old, she is scarcely more than a kitten herself. Kirrin was a good Mum.

Even after her kittens had left her, when her foster carer watched a video of Kirrin with her kittens, at the sound of their crying, Kirrin came running into the room looking for them. Kirrin is friendly and loves playing. If you can offer this petite girl a loving home, see haws-animals.org.uk or call 020 8560 5443.