Every effort to preserve wildlife and free them from the destructive hand of mankind is well worth it. Sheldrick Wildfire Trust, an animal sanctuary established in the heart of Kenya, whose mission is to protect native species, knows all about it.

Most of the animals they care for are baby elephants, giraffes or rhinos.

Due to the horrible fate of hundreds of elephants in the hands of poachers, their calves are left adrift and the angels of this sanctuary become their adoptive mothers, providing them with the attention and care they need so much. A task that has the best of rewards, as they assure that the signs of affection and gratitude they receive from these creatures surprise them again and again.

But the story of one of them marked their lives forever. This is Yatta, an elephant whose story dates back to 1999, when she was barely a month old and was rescued after hunters took her mother’s life for her coveted ivory. Sheldrick Wildfire Trust volunteers could not ignore the baby’s desperate cries and brought her to their facility.

There, they lavished themselves with vigilance, care and above all love for Yatta, until she became strong enough to be released into the savannah and celebrated the day she was returned to her natural habitat.

“Twenty-one years later, Yatta is living a completely wild life and is the mother of two beautiful cubs,” they wrote on the Sanctuary’s page.

Just when they thought Yatta would simply continue to live her life in the freedom and safety of the savannah, they witnessed something truly zoo-surprising, which melted their hearts.

Yatta knew how to find his way back to the Sanctuary with only one goal: to introduce them to his second calf, whom the volunteers named Yo yo. And it was not the first time she did it, since when her first baby, whom they named Yetu, was born, she did exactly the same.

The intelligence and gratitude of animals knows no bounds.

Volunteers recount that when Yetu was born, “more than fifty elephants showed up at our facility to celebrate his birth with trumpets, rumbles and kisses.”

After Yo yo’s birth last October 6, 2017, once again Yatta invited her extended family of humans and elephants to celebrate her new arrival and from then on she has stayed close to the Sanctuary as a gesture of gratitude to the caregivers who saved her life when she was just a baby.

Yo yo is a little guy who is already a pro at mud bathing, always under the watchful eye of his mother, sister and nannies, of course!

The volunteers assure that this gesture on Yatta’s part is one of the greatest rewards they have received and with that alone all their hours of effort have already been fully repaid, which encourages them to continue rescuing baby elephants adrift with an uncertain fate to return them to their natural habitat.

“Since giving birth to Yo yo, Yatta has been visiting us regularly with her new baby in tow. During one such welcome visit, our Guardians took the opportunity to remove some pesky ticks from little Yo yo while Yatta looked on, no worries! It all comes down to the mutual respect, trust and love they share for each other,” they wrote on the Sanctuary’s page.

Yatta and his growing family is living proof of the ripple effect saving an elephant can have.

Don’t leave without sharing this touching story with your friends and consider making a donation here so that these angels on earth can continue such a valuable mission.