Elephant Is Reunited With The Man Who Raised Her After Being Rescued From The Wild

She brought her newborn baby to meet him, too ❤️

This elephant named Sunyei was discovered stranded and alone in the wild in Africa approximately 20 years ago. She was only a newborn at the time, orphaned when her mother abandoned her.

Sunyei, on the other hand, didn’t have to go long without the love and care of her parents.

Sunyei was rescued in Kenya thanks to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. She met Benjamin, the chief keeper at the trust’s nursery, who acts as a mother figure to orphaned elephants like her.

“He organizes the orphans’ day-to-day care and wellbeing, ensuring that they are always happy and healthy,” Sheldrick Wildlife Trust executive director Rob Brandford told The Dodo.

Sunyei grew up happy and well in Benjamin’s care, learning the ins and outs of being an elephant from him and other keepers.

Sunyei left the trust’s caregivers in 2009 to start out on her own. Despite his freedom, though, Benjamin never left Sunyei’s heart.

“While it has been more than a decade since Sunyei opted to return to the wild,” Brandford added, “it appears she has never forgotten the generosity shown to her.”

That was never more evident than when Sunyei chose to come out of the woods to pay Benjamin a visit, taking her baby with her to meet the man who reared her.

Here’s a video of the moment:

“The desire of a fully grown, wild-living elephant to introduce a new baby to the human family that raised her on the same morning speaks volumes about their intelligence and sense of family: We can think of no other reason than she returned to a safe place to show off her new baby to her keepers, with whom she still maintains close bonds!” According to Brandford.

Sunyei’s visit wasn’t her first, and it won’t be her last. She’s visited them numerous times since the reunion, giving her adoptive parents the opportunity to witness her kid grow up.

That new generation was made possible by their efforts to save and raise Sunyei. And she appears to be aware of it.

“Though Sunyei has always referred to Benjamin and our keepers as her family, whatever contacts she has with them are always on her terms,” Bradford explained. “That’s what makes this moment so unique… she decided to share it with Benjamin and put her faith in him to do so.”