Okomu National Park in Edo State says a baby elephant rescued from an oil palm plantation on November 30 is currently undergoing rehabilitation.
The Conservator of the park, Mr. Osaze Lawrence, disclosed this on Monday in an interview with reporters at the park in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of the state.
It was reported that the park, in collaboration with the Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation, rescued the male calf—estimated to be about two months old—after it was found wandering alone inside the Okomu Oil Palm Company plantation.
Lawrence said workers at the plantation stabilize the animal before alerting park authorities.
“It was a very young elephant, less than two months old. They gave it water, tried to revive it and immediately called us,” he said.
He explained that rangers and ANI personnel retrieved the calf and attempted to reunite it with its herd inside the elephant home range, but the effort was unsuccessful.
“It walked some meters into the wild on its own and we thought it had returned to the family.
“But a commercial motorcyclist later reported seeing the disoriented calf alone by the roadside.
“At that point, it became clear it could not find its herd; the best option was for us to rescue, rehabilitate and stabilize it,” he said.
Lawrence noted that the calf, which had slipped into a health crisis, is now under 24-hour veterinary care at an ANI camp within the park.
“We are feeding it with the recommended milk, giving medication and monitoring its strength. It is stabilizing and doing very well,” he added.
He praised the synergy among national authorities, ANI, Okomu Oil Palm Company, veterinarians and international experts.
The rescue attracted global attention, including that of UK-born wildlife rescue specialist, Liz O’Brien, who flew in from Zambia to join the effort.
O’Brien, who has about 15 years of experience rescuing elephants across Africa, described the rescue as historic.
“In Nigeria, they have never rescued an elephant like this before; this is the first of its kind,” she said.
She explained that she traveled to Nigeria because the calf required expert intervention and said hands-on training for local conservation teams would help build long-term capacity.
“My main reason for coming was to train people here so the knowledge stays in the country.
“You cannot always rely on people flying in. We must develop the next generation of wildlife rescuers,” she added.
On the future of the calf, O’Brien said it would require at least two years of milk feeding and several more years of supervised exposure to the wild.
“Wild animals belong in the wild; the aim should be to return him to the area he came from when he is strong enough,” she said, adding that elephants require vast spaces and that zoos are not suitable environments for them.
ANI’s Project Manager at Okomu, Peter Abanyam, said the rescue reflected growing conservation awareness among communities around the park.
He noted that local engagement had increased significantly, with more community members showing interest in conservation-related employment and training.
“When the calf wandered to the main road, community members immediately alerted our gate. This shows how much awareness has grown,” he said.
Abanyam described the rescue as significant because it involved an African rain forest elephant, a species currently facing the threat of extinction.
However, he warned that increased elephant movement could heighten human–wildlife conflict unless urgent steps are taken to demarcate the park’s boundaries.
“We will soon grow into a crisis if boundaries are not marked, especially in the southern part where farms are expanding.
“Communities must know where the park begins,” he added.
