One elephant, Pretty Boy, did not have a pretty time for weeks. He had been shot in the forehead and just wandered aimlessly around a Zimbabwe park with huge holes in his forehead before he could find some help. When aid did arrive, he asked for support.
Pretty Boy had got a shot in his forehead, but it was called "too high for a 'kill shot,'" said experts.
In his Mana Pools National Park, Pretty Boy approached veterinarians Dr. Keith Dutlow and Dr. Lisa Marabini to get some help, said Animal and Wildlife Area Research and Rehabilitation Trust (AWARE) Facebook page.
Dr. Lisa Marabini said: 'It's like it knew we were there with the intention of helping it. We think it was shot outside the park and came inside for refuge.'
The vets suspect that poachers may have shot him outside the Mana Pools park. He later made his way inside to get treatment.
On June 13, they gave him a tranquillizer in order to take his X-rays and understand what was afflicting him. They found a bullet about 5 centimeters from his forehead's open wound.
They wrote on Facebook: "The X-ray, which in our opinion, confirms the presence of a 'mushroomed' bullet has glanced off the skull and lodged under the skin, which has caused a fracture of the sinus turbinate bones at the level of the entry wound. The opacity in the sinuses adjacent to the entry wound is suggestive of pus in that area."
Dr. Marabini explained: "He was lucky. The bullet must have glanced off the surface of his skull. After the first shot, he must have turned to flee. The perpetrator fired another shot at his heart because he had another abscess on his shoulder."
Poor Pretty Boy woke up from his tranquillizer and then slept with head pressing against a tree for 30 minutes.
Currently, he is in the park, recuperating. The vets will return for another check up later.He did feel happier and very relaxed, and allowed Stretch, Keith and Lisa (the vets) to inch closer to him for a better assessment.
A spokesman for the trust said: ''Hurry up and wait' is a common saying in wildlife circle. It takes more time to locate an animal than treat it.
