{"id":515625,"date":"2026-06-28T21:25:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T21:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/515625\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T21:25:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T21:25:26","slug":"caretakers-spot-baby-elephant-asleep-at-adults-feet-then-realize-the-sweet-reason-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/515625\/","title":{"rendered":"Caretakers Spot Baby Elephant Asleep At Adult’s Feet \u2014 Then Realize The Sweet Reason Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT)<\/a>, conservationists have watched generations of African elephants grow from rescued orphans into thriving families. Along the way, they’ve discovered something remarkable: Nurturing a calf isn’t just a mother’s job.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is often said that good fathers lead by example,\u201d SWT wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cThat is certainly true with elephants \u2014 older bulls are mentors, guardians, and founts of wisdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Sheldrick Wildlife Trust<\/p>\n

The team at SWT has found that male elephants play just as important a role in raising calves as the females do. While the females often nurse, protect and care for the youngest members of the herd, the males help shape the calves’ social development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey teach younger bulls how to behave and help them navigate the wild,\u201d SWT wrote. \u201cFar from the solitary figures they\u2019re often made out to be, bulls form strong friendships and show great loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Sheldrick Wildlife Trust<\/p>\n

Over the years, there have been many instances of male elephants at SWT taking vulnerable calves under their wings. But one particular scene the other day left the SWT team in awe, when a large male elephant, also referred to as a bull, was visiting the herd one morning and suddenly found a sleepy baby at his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaby Saba (ex-orphan Sunyei\u2019s daughter) got sleepy and settled at the feet of a visiting bull,\u201d SWT wrote. \u201cHe happily stood guard over the little girl until she was done with her nap!\u201d<\/p>\n

You can watch that heartwarming moment here:<\/p>\n

It was a beautiful scene to witness; a clear display of the elephants\u2019 natural instincts to care for each other. And just another example of how pivotal male elephants are to the development of multigenerational herds.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our orphans, such as Kiasa and Talek, were taken under the wings of benevolent bulls until help arrived,\u201d SWT wrote. \u201cBulls can even step in as \u2018honorary nannies,\u2019 as this scene shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Sheldrick Wildlife Trust<\/p>\n

In other instances, it\u2019s not just the males who watch over elephant calves while they nap. Sometimes, the entire herd comes together to ensure their sleepy babies remain safe while getting the rest they need. Like when a group of three calves, Lenny, Sulwe and Zigi, were born, and their caregivers made sure they could sleep whenever and wherever they pleased.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs babies do, they napped suddenly and often,\u201d SWT wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cWhen they showed signs of sleepiness, the entire herd would stop and circle round, so they could rest safely and soundly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though the babies are now older, they still get randomly sleepy throughout the day \u2014 and their herd is always ready to stop and let them rest for as long as they need.<\/p>\n

You can watch that happen here:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still much to be learned about African elephants, and the folks at SWT couldn\u2019t be happier to have such a lively herd to observe. Whether they\u2019re watching baby elephants navigate the world for the first time or seeing the wise adults naturally stepping in to help, the team remains in awe of the remarkable bonds they witness every day.<\/p>\n

And with every new observation, they gain a deeper appreciation for just how much these gentle giants have to teach us about family, trust and caring for one another.<\/p>\n

To help Kenyan wildlife like these elephants get the care they need, you can donate to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust here<\/a>.\"Baby<\/a>Baby Elephant Was All Alone Until He Fell In Love With An Orphaned BuffaloThey even sleep next to each other \ud83d\ude0d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), conservationists have watched generations of African elephants grow from rescued orphans into thriving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[14263,23427,9544,236312,125408,85,46,141,2865,9542,386],"class_list":["post-515625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animal-encounters","tag-ashley-ortiz","tag-daily-dodo","tag-for-the-family","tag-happy-corner","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science","tag-standard","tag-the-dodo","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}