Team rushes to treat elephant’s ‘ghastly’ injury caused by metal spear in Kenya
A team of wildlife experts in Kenya rushed to the aid of an adult African elephant spotted with a large spear in it’s foot.
Veterinarians pulled a bent metal spear about 5-feet long that had become embedded in the bull elephant’s foot pad, according to a May 18 Facebook post from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
The group said the “ghastly” injury was likely the result of a conflict with humans.
The team’s “swift” intervention prevented “irreversible damage” to the elephant, and as a result, he is expected to be OK, according to the organization.
The elephant was found in the Mara Triangle, an area making up one-third of Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve.
“Human-wildlife conflict is a growing threat to elephants, as wild spaces shrink and nature’s giants increasingly compete with humans for land and resources,” the team said.
While vets treat the animals “caught in the crosshairs,” experts said they are also working to address the root causes of human-wildlife conflict.
Some strategies include aerial and ground intervention, “shepherding elephants off community land and back to protected areas, fence lines that serve as wild borders, and community outreach to accomplish mutually beneficial solutions,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said.
Elephants aren’t the only animals at risk from human-wildlife conflicts.
In early May, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s mobile vet unit in Tsavo treated a fully grown male giraffe with a spear lodged in its leg, McClatchy News previously reported.
The giraffe was expected to make a full recovery.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has six mobile veterinary units and a “rapid response sky vet” program led by the Kenya Wildlife Service to treat injured wild animals across Kenya, according to the groups website.
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Team rushes to treat elephant’s ‘ghastly’ injury caused by metal spear in Kenya."
