Jaco Joubert sighted this herd of elephants as they climbed up a river bank, their wet skin signifying that they’d likely just been bathing in the shallows to try and take some of the heat out of the day.
It’s not uncommon to spot elephant herds made up of several generations, but this herd had a remarkable little calf along with them. A tiny calf, likely still very young, which had pink skin instead of the usual deep grey.
Up Onto The Bank
The family of elephants appeared to have been bathing on the shallow edges of a river, and were climbing back out onto dry land. It didn’t take long for the little pink calf to scramble into view, keeping up with the adults.
Due to its small size, this little calf looked like it was actually struggling to climb the bank, and the full-grown elephant coming up behind it helped it with its legs and trunk.
This calf’s unusual coloring was the result of albinism, which often makes these elephants appear to be either pink or white. It’s extremely rare in African elephants, but it makes them incredibly distinctive, as this footage shows.
Albinism In The Wild
Albinism is a rare condition in any animal, but in the wild it can also be a death sentence as parents, or other members of the species, might reject anything which deviates too far from the norm.
It appeared that this herd hadn’t rejected this elephant, as they allowed it to remain with them in the river, and an adult, presumably the mother but possibly an aunt, cared for it enough to help it up the bank.
But being albino also comes with some added health complications for African elephants, making them rarer than their Asian counterparts. For the darker skinned elephants, their coloration helps keep their skin safe from the sun.
Even then, these elephants will still bathe in water and mud to help keep themselves cool and to give their skin further protection. For pink elephants, their lighter skin is more susceptible to damage from that same sun, and albinism’s affect on their eyes can affect their sight.
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The Protection Of The Parent
Although the elephant herd seemed to have accepted this calf despite its unusual skin color, it stayed close to the adult which was presumably its mother. It’s unclear whether or not its albinism had affected its eyesight, but it rarely strayed far from her side.
If its eyesight was affected, and this unlucky calf was partially sighted, or maybe even fully blind, then it would make sense for it to keep close to its parent using a combination of its senses of hearing and smell.
Of course, this behavior could also be explained by this calf’s apparent youth as it was still very small indeed. The fact that the mother hadn’t rejected the calf meant that its chances of survival were higher than zero, but it was still going to have a rather difficult life ahead of it.
If it could live long enough to learn that it was at higher risk than the others and spend more time in the shade, it’s not impossible that this calf would make it to adulthood, despite the extra challenges its life would bring.