In 2012, Kenya was at the height of its poaching crisis. A young elephant, later named Murera, was caught in a poisoned spike trap. She escaped the trap, but her leg was terribly injured. Then she dislocated her hip trying (and failing) to keep up with her herd. Veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but volunteers at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust recognized Murera's will to live, and nursed her through her healing at their Nairobi nursery. But Murera was left permanently disabled. She was later placed at the trust's new reserve at Umani Springs.
You can also see videos of Murera's treatment and her rehoming.
Fast forward nine years. Murera was living her best life possible at the orphanage, with 18 other elephants. But one of her best elephant friends, who she treated as a son, died. Murera went off on her own for four days in mourning, then returned to take up normal life again. Month went by, and it became apparent that Murera was pregnant! That in itself was remarkable, as Murera did not normally seek the company of wild elephants. On March 12th, 22 months after her roundabout, she gave birth to a baby girl named Mwana. Three wild bull elephants showed up for the birth, one of which is suspected to be the father.
This was Umani Springs' first wild-born calf. But that caused its own problems. Murera did not have experience watching elephants in the wild raise their calves. It was a scenario like that of Zoe the orangutan. Murera was not nursing her baby, so her keepers had to milk her and then bottle feed Mwana. Finally, on the 11th day, Murera got the idea and let her daughter nurse. You'll want to read Murera's full story and learn about the incredible support she got from her keepers, her orphaned herd, and even wild elephants at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. -via a comment at Metafilter
(Image credit: Sheldrick Wildlife Trust)