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Orphaned Elephant Calf Finds Surrogate Mom at Reserve
25 Aug
Summary
- An eight-month-old calf named Uma found a surrogate mother.
- Nisarga, a 16-year-old elephant, adopted and cares for Uma.
- Uma is learning vital survival skills from her elephant mother.
An eight-month-old female elephant calf, Uma, has found a new lease on life at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) after being orphaned shortly after birth. Rescued by forest officials in December 2025, when she was just 10 days old, Uma has now been adopted by Nisarga, a 16-year-old camp elephant.
Nisarga has become a devoted surrogate mother, providing Uma with round-the-clock care. This includes teaching her vital survival skills that calves naturally learn from their mothers, such as locating water sources and proper trunk usage. These skills are crucial for her development and long-term survival.
Uma's digestive system is also benefiting from her new mother. Deprived of her mother's dung, which aids in processing vegetation, Uma is now consuming Nisarga's dung to help develop the necessary gut bacteria. She is currently being supplemented with milk powder mixed with water and is moved to a secure structure at night for safety.
