By Abdullahi Lukman
A two-month-old male elephant, rescued from an oil palm plantation in Edo State on November 30, is currently undergoing rehabilitation at Okomu National Park.
The Okomu National Park, in collaboration with the Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation, took swift action to stabilize the calf after it was found wandering alone at the Okomu Oil Palm Company plantation.
Mr. Osaze Lawrence, Conservator of Okomu National Park, revealed that park authorities were alerted by workers who initially helped the calf, providing it with water before calling for assistance.
Rangers and ANI Foundation personnel attempted to reunite the calf with its herd, but after it wandered further into the wild, it was found alone by a commercial motorcyclist.
This confirmed that the calf had lost contact with its family.
Following this, the calf was rescued and is now receiving 24-hour veterinary care at the ANI camp within the park. “We are providing the calf with special milk, medication, and regular monitoring.
It is stabilizing and progressing well,” said Lawrence.
The rescue operation has attracted international attention, including from UK-born wildlife rescue specialist, Liz O’Brien.
With over 15 years of experience, O’Brien described the rescue as historic, stating it was the first time such an elephant rescue had taken place in Nigeria.
O’Brien, who traveled to Nigeria specifically for the intervention, emphasized the importance of hands-on training for local conservation teams to build long-term capacity for future wildlife rescues.
O’Brien also stressed that the calf will need at least two years of milk feeding and several more years of supervised exposure to the wild before it can be safely returned to its natural habitat.
“The aim is to release him back to the wild once he is strong enough,” she added, noting that elephants require vast natural spaces and are not suited to life in zoos.
Peter Abanyam, ANI’s Project Manager at Okomu, highlighted the positive impact of the rescue on local conservation awareness.
He noted increased community engagement, with many people now showing interest in conservation-related employment and training.
Abanyam also expressed concern over growing human-wildlife conflicts as elephant movement increases in the area.
He urged the urgent demarcation of park boundaries to prevent future conflicts, especially as farmland expansion continues in the southern region.
