One year ago, a little sprite landed in our midst. Korbessa was just a few days old when she was rescued from a well on the border of Meru National Park. Even before she arrived at our Kaluku Neonate Nursery, we knew that we had a formidable character on our hands: Korbessa spent her rescue flight wedged between her new Keeper’s legs, calmly staring out the plane window at the landscape below.

Korbessa on her rescue flight

I placed Korbessa in a stable next to Toto. Toto has always been an exceptionally gentle young bull, and although he was about 18 months older than Korbessa, I felt sure that he would be a nurturing ‘big brother’ to the new rescue. My instincts were correct — Toto welcomed her with an open heart — but no one was prepared for the little whirlwind that was Korbessa! She immediately established herself as the tiny queen of Kaluku.

Toto and Korbessa

One could easily forgive Toto for begrudging Korbessa’s new reign. After all, she dethroned him as the baby of Kaluku and derailed some of his Keepers’ undivided attention. But Toto took the new dynamics in his stride. He treated his new little sister with unfaltering (if occasionally bemused) affection, taking in her antics with equal parts appreciation and amazement.

 

Korbessa bossing around all the boys

Korbessa is constantly plotting away, with Toto her willing accomplice. One of her favourite tricks is to ‘jailbreak’ Toto from his bedroom. Clad in her bright blanket — not exactly going incognito for her duplicitous acts — she toddles over to his stable and uses her trunk to deftly undo the latch. Toto ambles out for a few minutes of bonus playtime with his clever little sister, before the Keepers put them to bed once and for all. (It must be said that Korbessa’s trick works both ways: Just as she is fond of jailbreaking Toto, she is equally fond of shutting him inside his room, unceremoniously shutting his doors if she feels he is stealing the show!)

 

Toto and Korbessa

When Korbessa went through teething, we moved her to the ‘river stable block’ near my house. Teething is a fraught process for orphans, and we knew that Korbessa would benefit from the quieter atmosphere and bounty of greens to be found by the river. You might think that Toto enjoyed an unshared spotlight in her absence, but that was not the case: When she returned to the main compound, no one was happier than Toto. In fact, all the boys were visibly delighted to have their little sister back — these days, it is difficult to see the little elephant amidst Toto, Mwinzi, and Natibu sandwiching her!

 

Korbessa and her merry band of bulls

Korbessa reminds us how deeply elephants revere the females in their lives. She may be the smallest and the youngest orphan at Kaluku, but she is universally adored and respected by her ‘big brothers'. As she gets older, they will benefit from Korbessa’s wisdom and leadership. But now, at this formative, fragile age, Korbessa is the lucky one — lucky to be surrounded by so much love. 

 

Written by – Angela Sheldrick

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