Jumbo thirst! Elephant holds hose pipe like it’s a drinking straw as she guzzles water at Kenyan wildlife centre
- Lemeki, an orphaned elephant was rescued from a flood on the Mara River
- The elephant was brought to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya
- Lemeki enjoys drinking from a hosepipe used to create jumbo mud baths
A rescued elephant was filmed at a wildlife centre in Kenya drinking water from a hosepipe used to create mud pools for the pachyderms.
Lemeki, is an orphan elephant growing up in the care of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust at their Neonate Nursery in the Tsavo Conservation Area, Nairobi, Kenya.
She was rescued as a new-born after being swept down the raging Mara River during a flood.
The elephant has developed a habit of drinking water from a hose used create mud baths
Lemeki, an orphaned elephant has been raised by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust at their Neonate Nursery in the Tsavo Conservation Area, Nairobi, Kenya
Some of the other elephants attempt to wrestle with Lemeki to grab the water hose from her
Luckily, that experience hasn’t put her off water and she loves to wallow in the stuff and drink it by the hoseful.
The footage was filmed in the wildlife reserve earlier this months. Lameiki has been at the centre since she was rescued in May.
Elephants will naturally drink water where it is available including muddy pools, but understandably, this clever pachyderm prefers to drink the crystal clear refreshing water straight from the hose.
Caregivers at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust use the hosepipes to create mud baths in the soil.
Lemeki has always gravitated towards it, often causing tug-of-war battles with her fellow orphans over who gets to drink from it.
Lemeki’s keepers said: ‘She is boisterous, noisy and a complete clown. She loves attention, in fact she demands it, and her outsize personality engulfs everyone and everything in her path.’
At this age, she is still completely reliant on her caregivers for milk, security and a nurturing presence, but when she is older, Lemeki will be returned to the wild in a protected area.
To date, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – which is one of East Africa’s oldest conservation organisations – has successfully rescued more than 260 orphaned elephants.
At this age, she is still completely reliant on her caregivers for milk, security and a nurturing presence, but when she is older, Lemeki will be returned to the wild in a protected area
Lemeki’s keepers said: ‘She is boisterous, noisy and a complete clown. She loves attention, in fact she demands it, and her outsize personality engulfs everyone and everything in her path’
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