The animal kingdom can be tough. Ubuntu, also known as Ellie, is a baby elephant that was rejected by his herd because of an umbilical abscess which would have likely caused his early death. Luckily, the amazing workers at the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage in South Africa took him in, reported Barkpost.
Unfortunately, since elephants are social creatures that thrive in herds, the abandonment was traumatic. His health issues were also worsening, according to Little Things, and he proved to be intolerant to any milk that was fed to him.
Luckily, the workers at Thula Thula thought to introduce Duma, a German Shepherd, to Ellie. Duma is a former service and sniffing dog that took an immediate shining to Ellie, and it appears that the feeling was mutual, reported Time.
"What was a really interesting thing was the elephant calf was here. He was particularly weak, particularly ill. He wasn't showing much interest in doing anything. He was very lethargic, very disinterested. We introduced Duma and the elephant at the sand pile and it immediately cheered the elephant up... He suddenly started getting a little bit of interest in life again," said Karen Trendler, a rehabilitation and crisis response specialist at the center, according to Little Things.
Watch the amazing video below uploaded by Earth Touch, and get to know Ellie and Duma. The power of their friendship is a truly amazing thing to witness.
